The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties {CNPP} has demanded the immediate release of the result of the Short Message Service {SMS} Popular Opinion Poll {POP} recently annulled by the Constitution Review Committee of the National Assembly. The exercise was to determine the insertion of Local Government Council Autonomy in the new Constitution through the ongoing amendment exercise.
CNPP in a statement by Osita Okechukwu, its spokesman hailed the uncommon openness adopted by the Constitution Review Committee when the SMS Popular Opinion Poll was lavishly publicized, with lofty intendment of popular participation, inclusivity, transparency and as the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu said, ‘We want to discourage the usual situation where a vocal and privileged few expropriate the voices of the rest of the people, foist their personal opinions and narrow interests on the polity, claiming same to be the views of their people’.
“We were alarmed and jolted when news filtered out that the SMS Popular Opinion Poll has been annulled; following the leakage of the exit poll to the Governors Forum, which clearly indicates that our dear countrymen and women are in favour of the Autonomy of Local Government Council from imperial governors”,Okechukwu said.
He added, “Our Dear Compatriots! do we allow the imperial Governors, the corrupt privileged few to expropriate the voice of the Nigerian citizens, foist their personal opinion and narrow interest against popular will? NO! NO! NO!
“It is on record that as Professor Jibril Aminu said recently, that the unholy alliance of the Governors Forum has become an albatross, anti-people, anti-democracy and hindrance to national development.
“We are yet to locate any Governor that had conducted free, fair and transparent local council election in his empire; in fact some states like Anambra never conducted any for over a decade.
“Is it not paradoxical and ironical that the Governors who canvas for the devolution of powers and fiscal federalism are also against the grant of fiscal autonomy to the local government councils? What is good for the goose is good for the gander.
“Our survey from the major GSM Companies showed that Nigerians expended over N400, 000, 000 {Four Hundred Million Naira} as the cost of the SMS charges incurred expressing their preference for Local Government Council Autonomy.
“In sum, we demand the immediate release of the SMS POP result, for our democracy cannot flourish when we abandon our inalienable rights and allow popular opinion to be suppressed by a tiny cabal of less than transparent imperial governors; more so when the citizenry paid for the SMS POP.”
