Senate condemns ‘massive use of military forces’ during elections

The Senate on Wednesday condemned what it termed “the massive
use of military forces” during the just concluded elections.

The condemnation was part of the four-point resolution made on
the floor of the red chamber, after Senator Dino Melaye presented a
report he sponsored titled, “The militarization of the Nigerian
Electoral Process and the inconsistent application of the Electoral
laws by the Independent National Electoral Commission”.

Other resolutions made were, “Urge the INEC to ensure the
unrestricted and consistent application of all electoral laws
without bias to a candidate or a party in all elections.

“Direct the Senate Committee on INEC to investigate all
perceived inconsistent application of electoral laws by INEC in the
2019 elections.

“Urge the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to give
assent to the recent amendment to the Electoral Act to ensure a
level playing field and adoption of equal standards in our national
elections for a strong and peaceful democracy in Nigeria.

Reacting to the report, Senator Ahmad Lawan said, “The electoral
process remains a journey, it requires a lot of fine-tuning. We
need to meet with INEC to get a panoramic view of the
situation.”

“We are Nigerians and we are in Nigeria. What is wrong is wrong.
This election was a sham. INEC parameters were different in
different states. There is no wrong that can validate the other. We
need to look at our electoral process. Rigging and vote buying was
the order of the day. The legislator needs to look into this,” said
Senator Biodun Olujimi.