Ebonyi to adopt Option A4 for July 10 polls

 By Dennis Agbo

ABAKALIKI—AHEAD of the scheduled 10 July local government council elections in Ebonyi State, the state government may have concluded plans to adopt Option A4, a system of practically queing behind candidates of choice during voting.

In that regard, the state House of Assembly has also concluded plans for commencement of public hearing on the amendment of State Electoral Act to accommodate the Option A4 as a system of voting other than the popular open secret balloting.

The House Chairman on Information and State Orientation Committee, Mr. Eni Chima, who confirmed the arrangement in an interview with newsmen said, “we are engaging on public hearing so as to know the opinion of the people, if majority of our constituents desire it as the best and most transparent as they make allusions to the M.K.O. Abiola’s election. Then, we will have no alternative than to adopt that.”

Opposition political parties in the state, such as the Progressive Peoples Alliance, PPA, is, however, afraid that the balloting system is being considered by the PDP-led government as a way of checkmating aggrieved members of PDP who have planned to cast protest vote against the PDP as a way of expressing their anger on the manner of selecting the party’s councillorship and chairmanship candidates for the election.

Nevertheless, Ebonyi House of Assembly spokesman, Chima, stated that the Nigerian Constitution, in Section 7 provides that the system of local government by democratically elected councils under the Constitution, guaranteed that the government of every state shall be subject to Section 8 of this Constitution to ensure their existence under a law which provides for their establishment, structure, composition, finance, functions of such councils.

He said that explained why the House had the competence to make laws as regards the enthronement or establishment of a democratically elected governments in the councils.

He asserted that states, through their houses of assembly, have the powers to tinker on the voting system in the council election.

“If you go to Section 53 sub-section 1 of the Electoral Act2006, there is a provision that voting at any election under this Act shall be open secret ballot, that is to say that other elections which are outside the Act, like that contemplated in Section 7 of the constitution, can be done by another system of voting,” he said.

He explained that local government elections were of prime importance because the councils are vehicles of conveyance of development to the grassroots, adding that “the councils are breeding grounds for politicians.

His words: “In the history of elections in Nigeria, it is believed that the best election was that 1993 Presidential election believed to have been won by M.K.O.Abiola and the system was that of open ballot.

“So, Ebonyi State House of Assembly has called for public hearing to feel the purse of the people.”

Chima explained that after the public hearing, the House would go back to the chambers to debate on the issue, each member arguing based on the opinion of his or her constituents.

He dismissed as unfounded the suspicion by some observers in the area that the move could have been sparked off by the seeming insurgence of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) in the state, pointing out that “If the government in Ebonyi State which is PDP wants to win election at all cost, it would have insisted on the  open secret ballot system that gave it hundred percent victory.

“If you know the person of Governor Martin Elechi, you could find out that he works and only supports what will make for better tomorrow.

“How could one even talk of PPA that exists only on billboards in Ebonyi, you can only see them at EBSIEC where they register to collect the grants given to political parties, and man would always follow good things?

“ PPA has bad products, they are debtors with track records of insecurity, Ebonyians are clever people,” Chima added.