A group, the Concerned Kogi Citizens Forum, has called on the National Assembly to replace of professors with traditionalists, retired soldiers, pastors and Imams in the conduct of the country’s elections.
The leaders of the group, Isaiah Ijele and Abdullahi Hamza, made the call while addressing a press conference on Thursday in Abuja.
The group maintained that their reason was based on the fact that the have lost hope in Professors conducting elections.
The group in a letter dated June 4, 2024 and addressed to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas noted that the call was premised on the November 11, 2023 Kogi State Governorship election where the BVAS technology was allegedly bypassed leading to the emergence of an unpopular candidate.
It stressed that Kogites felt betrayed that after all the assurances given by INEC that BVAS machines would be used to curb over voting, some INEC officials allegedly compromised and sold Kogi State out.
It stated: “Sections 64 (4) and 7 (2) of The Electoral Act, 2022 which made BVAS mandatory for accreditation during elections be made operational without loopholes to be used for the good of all Nigerians.
“We call for a change to other institutions like Retired Soldiers, Pastors, Imams, Traditionalists, etc to replace Professors during our elections
“We have lost hope in Professors conducting our elections and we demand that the Institutions be changed immediately. Our Professors have let us down
“We further demand that INEC should declare election results from the IREV and only after confirming the exact number of accredited voters on BVAS. We strongly oppose Professors harming our institutions.”