Chairmen of 45 opposition political parties meet with Saraki to demand extra funding for elections

CHAIRMEN of 45 opposition parties standing in Nigeria's next elections have met with senate president Senator Bukola Saraki and requested additional funds for citizens’ sensitisation in the supplementary budget request sent by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Senators intend to send a supplementary request to the presidency asking for additional funds to allow the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) conduct the February 2019 elections. However, the opposition parties said that any such request should include money to enable Inec carry out a mobilisation campaign to get people to register as well as go out and vote.

Also, the party chairman condemned the recent invasion of the National Assembly by security forces, claiming it was an attack on democracy. They also condemned the siege on the residences of the principal officers of the National Assembly and that of the Benue State House of Assembly.

“It is with a deep sense of responsibility and patriotism that we have come here to visit you today and we join millions of Nigerian to express solidarity with the leadership of the National Assembly in these trying times in our history. As national leaders of political parties, we cannot sit by and watch our country slide into the Hobbesian state of anarchy, where life has become short, brutish and lawless.

“Nigeria is gradually turning into a failed state and all the institutions of state have been compromised and desecrated and this is the time to rise in defence of democratic values and nationhood. We unequivocally condemn the use of agencies of state: Nigeria Police, Department of State Security and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to clamp down on the opposition and stifle democracy as demonstrated in the siege on the residences of the principal officers of the National Assembly, the siege on the National Assembly, and the siege on the Benue State House of Assembly," the leaders added.

They added that today, Nigeria is facing the challenges of pervasive insecurity, massive joblessness and unemployment, ethnic irredentism and disunity. Furthermore, then challenged the National Assembly to use its constitutionally-guaranteed powers to legislate to arrest the slide, give the country a new direction and create hope for Nigerian men and women.

“We note that the courts have rejected attempts by the Accord Party to undermine the constitutional powers of the National Assembly to determine sequence of elections and we, majority of the political parties dissociate ourselves from that inglorious attempt. We also wish to demand for the inclusion in the 2019 budget/supplementary budget request sent by the presidency for 2019 election for funds for all political parties for citizen sensitization,” the chairmen added.