Former Minister of Petroleum, Prof. Tam David-West, said on Wednesday, April 15, that election rigging is worse than armed robbery, stating that if an armed robber gets a death sentence, so should a Politician who is involved in rigging.
Speaking in a telephone interview with Punch, David-West said any it will be difficult for Nigeria to experience free and fair election if desperate politicians are allowed to rig and go scot-free.
He described the outcome of the Rivers state governorship and House of Assembly elections as a sham and discredit to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“I have said that election riggers should get death sentence. Rigging election is worse than armed robbery. If an armed robber can be sentenced to death, election riggers must face similar punishment.
“That is the only way we can have peaceful, free and fair election in this country. It (Rivers election) was a sham. From all I heard, in Buguma, Asari-Toru, there was no election as a result of sporadic shooting in the area. Surprisingly, INEC released a result.
“It is wrong for anyone to say that the conducted election is good. Is that some people see the death as goodness? If an election is fraught with violence and other forms of malpractices, if it is not corrected, it would stain the performance of INEC,” he said.
The professor of Virology questioned the People’s Democratic Party’s over one million votes in Rivers, noting that it is impossible for the ruling party (APC) in the state to score only over 100, 000 votes.
