Nigeria’s immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC Professor Attahiru Jega is at the forefront of a new movement seeking to rescue Nigeria from the shackles of fraudulent electoral system with a threat to occupy the National Assembly if need be to ensure electronic transmission of results becomes part of the law.
The coalition of prominent politicians and technocrats which is also co-chaired by renowned lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olisa Agbakoba intends to mount pressure on the Nigerian government and the National Assembly to ensure that current efforts on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021 is driven to a logical conclusion and fully guarantees INEC an unfettered powers to transmit results electronically as contained in the proposed bill that is still pending in the parliament.
A major consensus reached at the end of its emergency National Political Summit to mark Nigeria’s 61st Independence Anniversary in Abuja is for the coalition to take the bull by the horns; occupy the National Assembly and force the hands of the country’s lawmakers.
Speaking, Jega noted that having an electoral legal framework with integrity is key to solving Nigeria’s protracted leadership challenge.
He therefore welcomed the additional value reforms such as electronic transmission of results will bring to bear on the integrity of the country’s electoral process.
“We need a remarkably improved election framework to enable INEC do its work. Once we do that we can begin to hold INEC accountable”.
Also Read : Electoral Reforms: Jega, Agbakoba, Naaba, Utomi, others to lead Abuja political summit
In his remark, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT), High Chief Raymond Dokpesi wondered why anyone will at the turn of technology driven era when people are travelling to the space on holiday, Nigeria is still debating whether or not election results should be transmitted electronically.
According to Dokpesi, the only reason those who are in power have stood vehemently against electronic transmission of results is because they want to continue to enjoy the undue advantage the current massively flawed arrangements present them.
” The world today is driven by technology with people going to the space on holiday and we are still quarrelling whether election results should be transmitted electronically”.
He urged INEC to find the courage to go ahead and exercise its mandate and independence guaranteed by the Constitution.
Also speaking, Civil Rights Activist, Comrade Atoye Ariyo said there is a plot in the National Assembly to deliberately delay the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment bill next year when it will be too late for assent.
Ariyo also exposed how a group of 14 lawmakers have allegedly concluded plans to travel to the United Kingdom to harmonize the bill; stressing that there is a criminal conspiracy going on in the 9th Assembly about the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021 and that the current National Assemby is not interested in passing the bill.
Joining virtually from the United States, Former SDP Governorship Candidate, Rivers State, Chief Precious Elekima pushed strongly for the more radical aporoach when he called on the coalition to speak less and act more and that the time to occupy the National Assembly is now before the elections are conducted with already written results.
He said Nigerians must understand that what is at stake for them is too enormous to toy with and must be ready to stand with, by recalling any lawmaker who stands against genuine electronic transmission of results and the independence of INEC to deliver it.
Former lawmaker Shehu Sani, Human Rights Lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome weighed in on the issues.
Innovative Public Speaker and President, Global Alterrnative Agenda, Oludare Ogunlana also joined in the conversation from his base in the United States.
(Editor : Paul Akhagbemhe)
