President Muhammadu Buhari has no justification, according to Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, for not signing the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
Wike stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics program on Sunday.
He argued that, contrary to accusations that the President is delaying owing to a stalemate over the bill’s inclusion of direct and indirect primaries, the major issue remains the electronic transmission of results.
“The ruling party in their conspiracy is trying to deceive Nigerians that the mere inclusion of the direct primaries in the electoral act amendment bill is the problem why the President does not want to sign or why he has refused to sign.
“The major issue is the transmission, the electronic transmission of results,” Wike asserted.
The governor went on to say that because terms in a bill can be further altered, there’s no reason why the President couldn’t have signed it and called for sections to be examined.
“The problem is that Mr. President signed the Petroleum Industry Bill and then had it returned to him for revision.
“If Mr President truly cares about this country and has promised Nigerians that he will conduct free and fair elections, then nothing prevents Mr President from emphasizing this amendment and then seeking an amendment regarding the direct/indirect mode of conducting political party primaries,” Wike explained.
“So if somebody tells you that abinitio, the APC intended to support the electronic transmission of election results in 2023, that person must be a joker because I do know that the reason the President did not sign in 2018/2019 was because of the card-reader,” he continued.
Mr. President, you have been warned that signing that will result in your electoral loss.”
Further on the subject, the Rivers State Governor stated that under the constitution, the National Assembly has the power to overturn President Buhari’s veto by two-thirds of the two houses.
He was disappointed, however, that “the leadership of the National Assembly as we have it today cannot place on the agenda of the two chambers that they will overturn, veto Mr President’s decline.”
According to the governor, the 9th Assembly does not have people who are capable of looking the President in the eye and telling him the truth when he makes a wrong decision.
On this premise, Wike arrived at the conclusion that Nigerians have no choice but to come out and say “enough is enough.” He added that the ruling party cannot continue to take Nigerians for a ride.
He declared that the opinions he was reeling out were not on behalf of a party but on behalf of Nigerians and that which is in their best interest.
“We are talking about what will make Nigeria be respected in the committee of nations as a country that believes in true, transparent democratic processes to elect her leadership.”
Governor Wike in his final summation on the matter stated that by refusing to accent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, President Buhari leaves Nigerians to doubt his promise as regards ensuring that the 2023 election will be free and fair.
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