According to information obtained by Daily Sun, several politicians, particularly those who reside in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, have been obliged to halt their campaign-related travel to states, towns, and constituencies due to fear of being attacked, kidnaped or killed.
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It was said that 30% of senators had received return tickets for the 2023 election which was discovered that the people feel threatened when traveling to their states outside of Abuja.
According to Daily Sun, over the weekend numerous senators bemoaned the fact that the recent wave of unrest had kept the majority of them confined to Abuja.
Ndudi Elumelu, the minority leader in the House of Representatives, had advised his colleagues to avoid Abuja during their extended vacation since the city was no longer secure.
“I want to beg members, Abuja is no longer safe, please, if possible, go back to your constituency. The place is so insecure,” he said.
However, according to one of the senators (unnamed), the introduction of the new Electoral Act would make it impossible for the 2023 elections to be manipulated. He said,
“It is becoming impossible for us to visit our states, villages, and constituencies. We are trapped in Abuja; movements for meetings and grassroots mobilization for our re-election bids have been severely threatened by insecurity,” said the senator.
He listed the South East, Niger, Katsina, Zamfara, and Kaduna, as states where politicians are scared of visiting.
In the various states, Houses of Assembly lawmakers are also scared of leaving their state capitals for their constituencies for fear of gunmen.
A senator from North Central, who secured the ticket of his party, said terrorists have threatened to abduct lawmakers during campaigns, especially in the North.
He said with the military and police overstretched, it would be difficult for many politicians to get security to provide cover for their campaigns.
“Even with the adjournment of plenary until September, many senators, who hitherto would have rushed to their villages, are trapped in Abuja over the fear of being abducted.
“We adjourned last week. Ordinarily, I ought to have been in my village; but I can’t do that. First, I’ll have to drive to my village because the distance between the available airport and my town is about three hours. That alone is dangerous.
“My state is one of the most affected. It will be easy to pick me up. In the South East, unknown gunmen have taken over the security of the entire geopolitical zone.
“Senators can’t boldly go home and campaign. Their lives are in danger. The only geopolitical zone that appears to be safe right now, is the South-South. Remove Edo State from that list. A few states in the South West are safe. Besides that, no state is safe.”
The new Electoral Act, 2022 is to regulate the conduct of Federal, State, and Area Council elections, to make provision for the restriction of the qualification for elective office to relevant provisions of the Constitution of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered), use of card readers and other technology devices in elections and political party primaries, to provide a timeline for the submission of list of candidates, criteria for substitution of candidates, the limit of campaign expenses, and address the omission of names of candidates or logo of political parties.
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