Ciroma group: April polls heading for failure

Daily Trust

16 Feb 2011

Ciroma group: April polls heading for failure

If the behaviour of Nigeria’s political parties during the recent primary elections is anything to go by, then the general elections in April 2011 will be worse than the much criticised elections conducted by former president Olusegun Obasanjo in 2007, the Northern Political Leaders Forum said yesterday. The Northern leaders who raised the alarm in a communiqué at the end of a meeting in Abuja on Monday said they arrived at the “sad conclusion” because of the level of impunity exhibited at the “sham primary elections” that took place at all levels, which gave the indication that Nigerian politicians have not learnt any lessons from the past.

The communiqué said, “After thorough appraisal, the Forum has arrived at the sad conclusion that Nigeria’s politicians have not learned any lesson from our past and are about to repeat the same mistakes which brought political instability to the nation and stunted its political development.

“If the behaviour of Nigeria’s political parties during the recent primary elections is anything to go by, then it is safe to assume that the quality of the forthcoming general election in April will make the discredited 2007 election seem credible, free and fair.”