by crossriverwatch admin
The Action Congress of Nigeria ACN, has instituted an action in the High Court Calabar against the Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission CROSIEC, asking for the review of voters register and for an order stopping the arbitrary charges by the commission.
Mr. Hilliard Eta the ACN chairman in the State said the Act that established the Commission only empowers it to collect the sum of 5, 000 and 10, 000 Naira from councilorship and chairmanship candidates respectively but CROSIEC has gone out of its way to demand for money far in excess of that from aspirants.
CrossRiverWatch findings reveal that the Commission is asking for the sum of 90, 000 Naira from councilors and 178, 000 Naira from chairmanship candidates which the ACN Chairman says the Commission has to “explain to us who gave them power to collect such money and for what?”.
Mr. Eta said the Electoral Act also states that the voters register should be reviewed before any election so CROSIEC should liase with INEC to ensure the register is reviewed before the September 21 date fixed for the Election. “There is still enough time for CROSIEC to ask INEC which is going to give them the voters register to review it 90 days before the election as stipulated in the electoral Act”
The ACN chairman said his party and the two other opposition parties in the state which are fielding candidates in the election are working under an agreed arrangement where only one candidate is standing against the PDP candidate in the event of the registration of APC before the election. “We have an arrangement which is secret to us” Eta said
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