Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the National Assembly Caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP), has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the re – amended 2010 Electoral Act ( Amendment ) Bill 2022 into law without any delay.
Rising from a meeting with members of the party’s board of trustee on Tuesday in Abuja, the Caucus also berated the All Progressives Congress ( APC ) for setting up 133- member campaign committee for the forthcoming Area Councils Election in FCT .
The Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe said having bent backwards as requested by President Muhammadu Buhari on the earlier rejected electoral bill, the bill should be signed without any delay.
“Now that we have bent backwards, no any excuse or reason should be given again. Provisions of the bill are very critical for expected credibility of the 2023 general elections ” , he said.
Also speaking, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon Ndudi Elumelu alleged that Governors on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, are lobbying the President not to sign the bill.
This he said, will be resisted by the PDP and forward looking Nigerians generally, because of other very important provisions in the bill like section 52 which deals with electronic transmission of election results .
“The plan of using mandatory direct primaries to scuttle the bill has failed because the National Assembly has widened the scope as requested for by the President.
“No any other unresolved issues or observations is left in the bill transmitted to the President on Monday this week .
“No more excuses, no more delay, it should be signed in the interest of credibility and sanctity of electoral process in the country”.
He went further to lampoon the ruling party for constituting 133 – member campaign council for the forthcoming Area Councils Election in FCT.
According to him, rather than APC focusing on how to hold its severally postponed National Convention, the party is carrying hammer to kill ant by enlisting 16 serving governors, 12 serving Ministers and countless numbers of other public office holders at the federal level to militarize Area Council Election in FCT.
“This to us in PDP is laughable because throughout the 16 years we were in power at the centre, there was no time such a busy body campaign council was set up for FCT Area Council election .
“Unfortunately for APC, the 133- member campaign council it set up, cannot deliver FCT for it because there is no way aliens or strangers in any place, will displace landlords”, he said .
The Clerk to the National Assembly Mr. Olatunde Amos Ojo had on Monday , transmitted the authenticated copies of the Electoral Bill 2022 to President Muhammadu Buhari.
This was done in accordance with the provisions of Section 58 (3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the Acts Authentication Act Cap. A2 LFN 2004.
