A former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) , Uche Seondus, has opposed calls for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct local government elections.
Sara-Igbe also emphasised the potential for enhancing food security through agriculture, noting the region’s capacity to supply fish to Africa.toral Commission (INEC) to conduct local government elections.
Speaking at the first South-South Leadership Conference of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Port Harcourt, Secondus argued that the commission is already overburdened.
He stated that it is misguided to consider giving more power to the Federal Government at a time when citizens are advocating for the decentralization of power and expressing concerns about the conduct of national elections by INEC.
Drawing from his experience as a long-standing politician, Secondus claimed that national elections conducted by INEC have yet to be credible.
He also called for the drafting of a new constitution that better reflects the desires of the citizens, criticizing the current constitution as fundamentally flawed and misaligned with the aspirations of Nigerians.
The IPAC conference was chaired by Ijaw elder statesman Anabs Sara-Igbe, who called for a more active role for traditional rulers in the region.
He criticized the lack of constitutional provisions for traditional rulers in the country’s governance.
Sara-Igbe advocated for the industrialization of the region and urged a united front to voice regional demands amid Nigeria’s economic shift from oil to gas.
The event, themed “Good Governance and Security as Panacea to Grassroots Development,” was attended by the national leadership of IPAC, as well as chairmen of political parties from the six states of the region.
Other notable attendees included former Minister of Transport Abiye Sekibo, former Governor Celestine Omehia, Niger Delta activist Ann Kio-Briggs, and other prominent personalities.