Nigerians Are Not Sure Elections Will Hold – Falana

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) on Tuesday said Nigerians are not sure the 2023 general elections will hold.

Falana stated this while reacting to the naira and fuel scarcity in the country during an appearance on Arise TV on Tuesday.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria stated that there is no guarantee that the election will be held.

The human rights lawyer said despite assurance by the armed forces, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be the agency guaranteeing Nigerians of the situation, a few days before the presidential and national assembly election.

According to Falana, the issue of naira notes and petrol scarcity must be addressed before the country can be ready for the elections.

Falana said, “By now, Nigerians should be fully prepared for the election. But unfortunately, there is no indication, and people are still saying will the election hold or not.

“The Chief of Defence staff has no business with respect to our election. We are under a democratic system of government, and it should be the IGP that should be speaking about security. Because, it is the police, under the law, that will man the polling units. The armed forces are only asked to stand by.

“Let us all appreciate that we are operating a civilian dispensation and the military must go back to their barracks. The person that should be doing the talking is the INEC chair, who has said the commission needs cash to take care of some logistics.

“But has the money been released? No. Even the armed forces and the NSA spoke about the effect of cash scarcity on counter-insurgency campaigns. Those areas have to be addressed. And for the masses, it is only when you have access to your money that you can be happy and ready for the election. We must be ready and all these will have to be taken seriously.”