20th November, 2020
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday said elections in Nigeria are not going to be credible until there are improvements in the country’s electoral laws.
The party National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, stated this in Abuja at a news conference on the party’s resolutions from Thursday’s 90th National Executive Committee meeting.
Ologbondiyan said that the party resolved to constitute a broad-based committee to work with the National Assembly and other stakeholders on the Electoral Act amendment to make Nigeria’s elections free, fair and credible.
“For us in the PDP, we believe that until there are improvements in our electoral laws, our elections are not going to be credible and this is going to endanger our democracy.
“So, the PDP has resolved to constitute a committee that will work in tandem with NASS members elected on the platform of our party and other interested parties as well to form a broad-based committee that will work with our legislators.
“We are also going to engage the civil societies on electoral reforms.
“As a party, we have seen that the issue of electoral frauds, abuses, hijack of the electoral process can only be redeemed if every Nigerian agrees in unison that we must amend the rules.
“This is why the PDP has agreed to work in concert with CSOs, faith-based organisations, community leaders to entrench a law in the system in which the people can truly elect their representatives.”
Ologbondiyan also disclosed that the party had resolved to go for electronic membership drive by the first quarter of 2021.
“As you know even the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is contemplating going for electronic election.
“If you look at the election that was held in Edo where results were transferred on INEC portal from the units, the base of the election, to the collation centre, that negated and ruled out the tendency of hoodlums hijacking results and changing them.
“By the first quarter of next year, we would have been able to begin the pilot scheme.”
Ologbondiyan added that the NEC also agreed to strengthen the PDP’s processes of reconciliation both at the zonal level and national level.
“Modalities have been created already and I am sure that before the end of the year, we are likely going to see leaders coming in.
“Even the PDP governors forum and other organs of the party have also agreed to go into reconciliation with our members and leaders when we have issues.”
He added that in order to prepare Nigerians ahead of 2023 elections, PDP was going to create a committee that would review its manifesto to meet demands of Nigerians and current exigencies in the country.
He noted that Gov. Bala Mohammed-led Committee reviewing the performance of PDP in the 2019 general elections, briefed the NEC on how far it had gone and demanded for more time.
“They (Committee members) brought a preliminary report to NEC and they divulged the areas that they have been able to cover in the assignment and they asked for more time.”