[NIGERIA] Tunde Bakare Calls For Postponement Of Presidential Election• Advocates Transitional Government
In view of the growing Boko Haram insurgency in the country, which he said may hinder a free and fair election, the serving overseer of Latt...
http://www.africaeagle.com/2015/01/nigeria-tunde-bakare-calls-for.html
In view of the growing Boko Haram insurgency in the country, which he said may hinder a free and fair election, the serving overseer of Latter Rain Assembly, Lagos, Pastor Tunde Bakare has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to institute a two-year transitional government and postpone the February 14 presidential election.
To achieve these, he admonished the president to activate the constitutional provisions for the suspension of election as provided for in Section 135(3) of the 1999 constitution.
Bakare made the statements during a Sunday service at his Lagos church in a prepared address to the nation, which he titled: “The Gathering Storm and Avoidable Shipwreck: How to Avoid Catastrophic Euroclydon, supported with a biblical text: Acts 27:1-25.
However, Bakare, a former vice presidential candidate of General Muhammad Buhari under the defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) in the 2011 presidential election, said his position in the unfolding political situation of “our nation is that of a nation-builder and not a politician.”
He warned against what he called an “imminent storm, threatening to hit our nation,” while also giving an assurance of hope, saying: “Despite the looming chaos, Nigeria in the hands of God is going to be the biggest miracle of the century.”
Bakare said the Boko Haram “war” against the country has made it ripe for the president to invoke that section of the constitution, but reasoned that a possible argument against his call would be the notion that the country is not at war.
He reasoned that, if indeed the country is not at war, “how can one explain the invasion and annexation of Nigerian territory by insurgents, launching attacks from our borders and neighbouring countries?”
To support his claim that Boko Haram insurgency is a war against the country, Bakare quoted President Jonathan in his May 14, 2013 address, while declaring a state of emergency in three states, where he described activities of terrorists thus:
“These actions amount to a declaration of war and a deliberate attempt to undermine the authority of the Nigerian state and threaten its territorial integrity. As a responsible government, we will not tolerate this.”
Bakare said “records indicate that since that declaration, the situation has only worsened. Therefore, if the country was at war then, according to the president, it is even more so now.
“Therefore, I submit that if the President considers that a part of the federation will be disenfranchised by reason of the Boko Haram plague, a postponement of the election may not be out of place.
“In my view, the litmus test to arrive at the type of war contemplated by the constitution is the practicality of getting people in the affected states to line up to vote for candidates of their choice in situations where they cannot predict when the next attack will be launched by insurgents.
“I hold the view that the drafters of the law feared for mass disenfranchisement of Nigerians, who will refuse to risk their lives, hence the requirement that the nation wins the war before conducting an election,” Bakare said.
Also speaking on the chances of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate candidature of General Buhari, Bakare reasoned: “Even if General Buhari wins, what would happen if, in response to a Buhari victory, another wave of insurgency explodes in the South-South in such proportion that will completely ground the Nigerian economy? Is that what we want as a nation?”
He, however, said his proposal for suspension of elections is not with a view to giving the president an avenue for undue tenure elongation but for the purpose of building a coalition that will bring lasting solutions to our problems.
To gain support of all stakeholders after suspending elections, Bakare said “the president must not act with the intention to seek re-election.”
Rather, he called for the creation of a Transitional Government, where the president would be the head and within the period, commit himself to building a non-partisan coalition comprised of major stakeholders and competent statesmen from each geopolitical zone.
“This coalition, headed by the president, will constitute a combined force that will tackle terrorism and address what I have earlier referred to as the fundamentals, within a time frame of two years or less,” he added.
Within this period, Bakare said the government should have been able to addressing the fundamentals and call for immediate implementation of the report, or part thereof, of the 2014 National Conference.
He said those areas proposed, especially as it relates to restructuring with a view to achieving true federalism under Zonal Commissions as well as fiscal federalism ensuring, that adequate allocation is given to a Solid Minerals Development Fund in addition to other recommendations geared towards economic diversification.
Other areas Bakare said should have been addressed before a true and fair election can be conducted include: Conduct accurate census; establishment of a truly independent electoral body and creation of a true people’s constitution that will reflect the aforementioned features.
Bakare said the country can go ahead, “if all these are put in place; conduct free, fair and credible elections in the consensually accepted constitutional arrangement.”
Source: Nigerian Tribune
To achieve these, he admonished the president to activate the constitutional provisions for the suspension of election as provided for in Section 135(3) of the 1999 constitution.
Bakare made the statements during a Sunday service at his Lagos church in a prepared address to the nation, which he titled: “The Gathering Storm and Avoidable Shipwreck: How to Avoid Catastrophic Euroclydon, supported with a biblical text: Acts 27:1-25.
However, Bakare, a former vice presidential candidate of General Muhammad Buhari under the defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) in the 2011 presidential election, said his position in the unfolding political situation of “our nation is that of a nation-builder and not a politician.”
He warned against what he called an “imminent storm, threatening to hit our nation,” while also giving an assurance of hope, saying: “Despite the looming chaos, Nigeria in the hands of God is going to be the biggest miracle of the century.”
Bakare said the Boko Haram “war” against the country has made it ripe for the president to invoke that section of the constitution, but reasoned that a possible argument against his call would be the notion that the country is not at war.
He reasoned that, if indeed the country is not at war, “how can one explain the invasion and annexation of Nigerian territory by insurgents, launching attacks from our borders and neighbouring countries?”
To support his claim that Boko Haram insurgency is a war against the country, Bakare quoted President Jonathan in his May 14, 2013 address, while declaring a state of emergency in three states, where he described activities of terrorists thus:
“These actions amount to a declaration of war and a deliberate attempt to undermine the authority of the Nigerian state and threaten its territorial integrity. As a responsible government, we will not tolerate this.”
Bakare said “records indicate that since that declaration, the situation has only worsened. Therefore, if the country was at war then, according to the president, it is even more so now.
“Therefore, I submit that if the President considers that a part of the federation will be disenfranchised by reason of the Boko Haram plague, a postponement of the election may not be out of place.
“In my view, the litmus test to arrive at the type of war contemplated by the constitution is the practicality of getting people in the affected states to line up to vote for candidates of their choice in situations where they cannot predict when the next attack will be launched by insurgents.
“I hold the view that the drafters of the law feared for mass disenfranchisement of Nigerians, who will refuse to risk their lives, hence the requirement that the nation wins the war before conducting an election,” Bakare said.
Also speaking on the chances of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate candidature of General Buhari, Bakare reasoned: “Even if General Buhari wins, what would happen if, in response to a Buhari victory, another wave of insurgency explodes in the South-South in such proportion that will completely ground the Nigerian economy? Is that what we want as a nation?”
He, however, said his proposal for suspension of elections is not with a view to giving the president an avenue for undue tenure elongation but for the purpose of building a coalition that will bring lasting solutions to our problems.
To gain support of all stakeholders after suspending elections, Bakare said “the president must not act with the intention to seek re-election.”
Rather, he called for the creation of a Transitional Government, where the president would be the head and within the period, commit himself to building a non-partisan coalition comprised of major stakeholders and competent statesmen from each geopolitical zone.
“This coalition, headed by the president, will constitute a combined force that will tackle terrorism and address what I have earlier referred to as the fundamentals, within a time frame of two years or less,” he added.
Within this period, Bakare said the government should have been able to addressing the fundamentals and call for immediate implementation of the report, or part thereof, of the 2014 National Conference.
He said those areas proposed, especially as it relates to restructuring with a view to achieving true federalism under Zonal Commissions as well as fiscal federalism ensuring, that adequate allocation is given to a Solid Minerals Development Fund in addition to other recommendations geared towards economic diversification.
Other areas Bakare said should have been addressed before a true and fair election can be conducted include: Conduct accurate census; establishment of a truly independent electoral body and creation of a true people’s constitution that will reflect the aforementioned features.
Bakare said the country can go ahead, “if all these are put in place; conduct free, fair and credible elections in the consensually accepted constitutional arrangement.”
Source: Nigerian Tribune
