A socio-political activist and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Aisha Yesufu, has slammed members of the Rivers State House of Assembly over moves to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy.
In a statement on Friday, Aisha said that if the lawmakers have deviated from their primary responsibility of representing the people, they should be recalled.
She, however, lamented the difficulties associated with the process of recalling lawmakers, blaming the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for allegedly stiffening the process.
According to her, the lawmakers have become playthings for political operators, stressing that the lives and wellbeing of ordinary Rivers people no longer seem to matter to them.
She said that in theory, the recall of lawmakers sounds democratic, but in practice, “it is almost impossible, not because citizens do not want accountability, but because the voters’ register in Nigeria is deeply flawed.
“INEC itself has highlighted that Nigeria’s voters’ register contains names of deceased persons, people who have relocated, and other ineligible entries, making it hard to claim it is a true reflection of actual eligible voters.
“The issues are not new. During voter registration cleanup exercises in the past, biometric systems exposed very high levels of invalid registrations. In some cases, nearly half of new entries were invalid when first checked before cleanup.
“This means the benchmark of ‘50 per cent of registered voters’ is not a true reflection of the living, active electorate. It is a number artificially inflated by outdated, inaccurate data.
“Until the electoral register is cleaned, verified, revalidated, and linked to reliable identity systems, recall, a vital democratic tool, will remain a dream for citizens, and power will stay shielded from the people.
“If Rivers citizens had the power realigned to reflect actual voters, such as 50 per cent of actual votes cast or verified active registrants, then perhaps we would see a different reality: elected lawmakers held accountable for failing to prioritise governance over factional interests.
“Let us be clear: if a lawmaker’s business is not to represent the people, protect their interests, and legislate for their wellbeing, but instead to serve the ambitions of a few political elites, then they have no business sitting in the legislative chambers.
“The people of Rivers deserve leaders who put the public interest above personal ego. They deserve accountability, integrity, and real governance. Anything less is a betrayal of the trust the people placed in them.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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