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The minority leader of the House of Representatives, Muhammed
Ali Ndume, has said he is a beneficiary of what he describes as the
“allocation” of votes during the 2007 general elections in the country.

“In 1999, there was no election, there was selection,” Mr. Ndume
said. “In 2003, there was no election, there was selection. In 2007, it became
worse, there was allocation. I am a beneficiary. I want to be elected. I want
to be elected in 2011,” Mr. Ndume said.

The All Nigeria Peoples Party representative stated this while
addressing protesters at the National Assembly complex in Abuja yesterday.

The protest was organised by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC),
the Trade Union Congress and civil society groups to demand for electoral
reforms and for the removal of Maurice Iwu as the chairman of the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Mr. Ndume told the protesters that the opposition members in the
National Assembly have become incapacitated saying “the opposition in the
National Assembly and in a democracy is supposed to be doing what you are doing
now, but we are paralysed.”

Impartial umpire

The legislator, representing Damboa/Gwoza/Chibok federal
constituency of Borno State, said he supports the recommendations of the
Muhammadu Uwais-led commission on electoral reform and is opposed to the
senate’s recommendation that the president continues to appoint INEC heads.

“You can’t be a player and choose the umpire. The appointment of
the INEC chairman must be done according to Uwais recommendation. You should
stand up and support us that are struggling for that. Secondly, elections must
be completed before swearing in of anybody. Now there is a senator that is to
be sworn in or yet to be sworn in after three years of litigation,” Mr. Ndume
said.

The legislator further challenged the protesters not to relent
in their demand for electoral reforms and not to put the blame of failure of
the reforms on legislators alone.

“It is not enough to request for electoral reform. We must ask for credible
elections. It is not enough to put blame on the minority leader because I am a
Nigerian too.”