Abuja onMonday, rejected recommendations
for the regulation of campaign expenses,
submitted to him by the former Senate
President Ken Nnamani headed National
Stakeholders' Forum on Electoral Reform.
Goodluck challenged Nigerians to advocate a
"realistic and practicable" law that would not
be "a booby trap" for anyone. This according
to a report today in DailyTrust.
Section 91 of the Electoral Act 2010
stipulates that: "The maximum election
expenses to be incurred by a candidate at a
presidential election shall be N1 billion;
governorship (N200million); Senate
(N40million) and House of Representatives
(N20million)."
The Political Party Monitoring and
Liaison (PPML) department of INEC is set
up to such monitor campaign expenses,
but INEC dismisses this function under
the guise of the task being "impossible,"
alleging that "most monetary exchanges
occur at night."
The president, yesterday turned down strict
monitoring with the explanation that the
committee should reject "booby traps."
Booby traps for who? For the politician or
for the Nigerian masses? Booby traps for him
or for the opposition? Did the president
consider the desperate desire of the 168
million Nigerians for politician regulation and
limitation, booby trapping as he calls it,
necessary to sanitize the political climate and
control deadly violence and terror and
terrorist group creation?
Among the most clamored for electoral
reforms is the limitation and strict regulation
of campaign expenses. Nigerians are
desperate for this change, but the president
does not seem to share the needs and
aspirations of the nation's people.
The President said: "If you say a governor
must not spend beyond certain amount of
money when campaigning, how do you
monitor? And sometimes, the figures you put
are too unrealistic because if you must
campaign, the media is very expensive."
He pretty much implied that there need not
be regulation, and not that it was hard to
regulate. The president was pushing for
unlimited spending—of billions of dollars, for
instance—explaining that the media is
expensive.
But, strict regulations would affect all
candidates, would it not? All candidates will
be forced to cap the money they throw at the
media and they channel to militia, bandits,
youth terrorist recruits and community
'leaders,' that wrecks the fiber of the Nigerian
society. Why should the nation's leader reject
such desperately essential transformation that
all parties will be bound by and that Nigerians
demand?
In regards to monitoring 'night' spending. The
cash-less transaction system was set-up for
this purpose, was it not? Or it is a system
that has only been successful in further
taxing and burdening the masses and not the
political elite? If really and truly, their money
too is forced into the financial system, their
channeling of this money in political
campaign processes will be supervised by the
Central Bank under… oh, Gosh, Godwin
Emefiele, in any case, the Central bank would
monitor Jonathan's spending as it will monitor
the opposition parties' youth, I hope,
candidates' spending. This will be realistic,
practicable and a booby trap only for the
unworthy candidates who have to buy their
way through filthy and immoral citizens, with
stolen billions; a booby trap for the
candidates who are the sponsors of
community breakdown and terror. Why the
trepidation?
Is Nigeria the president's personal business?
Why does the government of the country not
seek and do the requests and wishes of the
people in this 'democracy?' The people want
strict campaign funding capping and
regulation with all offices from the EFCC,
through the ICPC, the police and the CBN
involved. The people want a booby trap for
the political cabal. Monitoring election
funding will limit the destruction of the moral
fiber of the society and curb terror. The
people want this. Will the civilian regime
work for the people or for themselves?
Finally, in the DailyTrust story on the
problems of limiting campaign spending, the
president gave a not surprising reaction. He
said: "Each time one travels abroad, people
ask all kinds of questions that even get one
angry."
One must say, you gotta 'love' Jonathan… a
straight shooter, very akin to president
George Bush Jnr, known for speaking from
his gut, no fear, no care. No finesse, no
harness.
The president is angered by Nigerians abroad,
who are for one, able to escape the slave-
camp they set Nigeria to be and go abroad,
and have seen how it is possible and actually
so easy and proper and better for things to
work and work in the advantage of the
people, poor included; and who are not
intimidated by 'elected' office holders, and
challenge the president to his duty to the
people and not to the pocket.
We implore the president consider the report
of the people, submitted to him in the best
interest of Nigeria.
by Dr. Peregrino Brimah
http://ENDS.ng [Every Nigerian Do Something]
Email: drbrimah@ends.ng Twitter:
@EveryNigerian
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