A member of the constitution review committee, House of Representatives, Hon. Sergius Ogun has said that the present government is afraid of a free and fair election, which has resulted in the delay in the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
The lawmaker stated this on Tuesday during his appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
He said; “I think the government in power today is afraid of a free and fair election, this is simply why in the last house the bill was not passed.
“The government is scared that if there is a free and fair election there would not be room for manipulation”.
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The lawmaker explained that with the present act which was amended in 2015, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) can still determine the transmission of results. “That power is there, they did it in 2018, 2020, and 2021.”
He noted that there are other things in the bill, not just the transmission of results that should help our electoral system.
Ogun said he is optimistic that President Muhammadu Buhari is going to assent to the bill, adding that the National Assembly is resuming today and some of these issues will be deliberated on.
“I know as a nation we are anxious to do this like yesterday, I know this happened in the former House but I’m certain the President is going to accent to this bill.”
Governors of the People’s Democratic Party had on Monday urged the National Assembly to override the veto of the President on the Electoral Act amendment to ensure a quick passage of the bill into law.
The governor’s forum said the Act, if passed into law, would guarantee credible elections in 2023, and that early completion of the amendment process would save the nation’s electoral system.
The forum, therefore, called on the National Assembly to as a matter of urgency conclude its actions on the bill by either overriding President Buhari’s veto or deleting the aspect under contention to allow quick passage.
Similarly, a Legal Practitioner/ Fiscal Governance Contributor, Eze Onyekpere, has asked that the bill be prioritised.
According to him, every Nigerian is disappointed in the delay in the passage.
“It is a real matter of urgent importance, the expectation is that they should make it a priority. “The civil society and Nigerians to a great extent are disappointed at what has happened so far”.
