Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega has called for a swift passage of the electoral act amendment bill, urging President Buhari and the National Assembly to take immediate action.
The ex INEC boss described the bill as the solution to the problem of election integrity in the country. he advocated that the next election should proceed with the instruments contained in the new bill.
In a Townhall meeting on the Electoral bill on Sunday, he said, “This country will be better off if we go into the next election with a new electoral law which will enhance the integrity of the preparations and conduct of the elections.”
Recall that towards the tail end of last year, President Buhari had withdrawn assent to the Electoral Bill on grounds that the direct primaries would breed a plethora of lawsuits, fuel corruption, and encourage over-monitorization of the electoral process.
However, the Professor and former Chairman of INEC asserted that the argument of direct or indirect primaries does not hold a candle to the promise that implementing the bill will actualize in reforming the electoral process in Nigeria
“We already have some fundamental elements that can improve the integrity of the elections, let this be passed immediately, drop this issue of direct primaries, think more seriously about it. It is good, it should be done but if we proceed to do it the way we are trying to do it now, we are likely to create more problems than it will solve,” he said.
According to him, the bill contains a variety of novel amendments that are critical to the integrity of the electoral process. Out of the 36 recommendations made by INEC to the National Assembly, 31 were approved and drafted into the bill with almost no amendment.
He added that the amendments are the first in the last 12 years, signifying a move towards a better electoral process. He, therefore, maintained that withholding assent to the bill, over a clause, would have unfavourable effects for INEC, hampering the body’s capacity to adequately organize future elections.
“A good legal framework helps to create elections with integrity and electoral integrity helps to enhance democratic consolidation and the preparation and conduct of elections democratically.
“Since 2010, we have not had substantive improvements in the electoral legal framework until now and clearly, the bill contains quite a lot of substantive improvements, so we must do everything possible to ensure that we go into the next election with a new bill”
On the same matter, President Muhammadu Buhari had recently told Nigerians that mandatorily, his accent to the bill would require the option of indirect primaries.
“There should be options, you can’t dictate to people and say you are doing democracy. Give them other options so they can make a choice,” the President argued.
