Interpol Systems Consultant and security expert, Sir Chikwe Udensi has said politicians who have been campaigning before the official commencement of campaigns as stipulated in the Electoral Act (2022) as amended have violated the constitution and should be sanctioned.
He said those who have been campaigning at burial ceremonies, new yam festivals, weddings, churches, and mosques before the September 28 official commencement violated the constitution.
Sir Udensi who spoke on Wednesday at his weekly programme, Open Parliament on ABN TV and Family Love said the political parties and their candidates have violated sections 94 and 96 of the Electoral Act which stipulates that no political party should start campaigns before the whistle is blown.
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The INEC had set Wednesday, September 28 for the commencement of campaigns for presidential and National Assembly elections.
According to Sir Udensi, there were inactions on the side of most political parties who did not provide proper guidelines for their candidates, saying it is unethical.
“In fact, most of the rallies are in churches and mosques, and we saw the clips of ones that were done at the palaces of traditional rulers, women meetings and gatherings, some were even done in weddings, and also recently we saw the ones that were going on in new yam festivals around the South East region, even in burials.
“They also violated section 92 where it has to do with designated worship places, especially sub-section 3 that specifically says places designated for religious worship, police stations, and all public offices, shall not be used for political activities,” he said.
He said a meeting of stakeholders at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka which he attended recently x-rayed things considered ethical and unethical that the political parties and their candidates have done.
Sir Udensi, a chieftain of APGA, therefore, called for proper punitive measures to be taken against the political parties and their candidates who continue to undermine the Electoral Act
He called on citizens to at all times learn to obey the laws of the land, wondering why INEC lacks the power to impose sanctions on erring political parties and their candidates.
