21st December, 2021
By Emmanuel Antswen/ Nicholas Dechi
Contrary to assertions of some members of the civil society organisations, politicians and other critics, Governor Samuel Ortom has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for declining to assent to the 2021 Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
The Benue State Governor, a trenchant critic of Buhari, gave the unusual commendation while speaking to journalists on refusal of the President to assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill as indicated in a letter to the National Assembly on Tuesday.
The President had cited inclusion of direct primary as the only method for election of candidates of political parties for elections as the main reason for withholding his assent to the Bill.
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday in Makurdi, Ortom said the refusal of the President to assent to the Bill should be commended as the choice of mode of party primaries should be the exclusive reserve of political parties.
He said that direct primaries was expensive hence only big parties with enormous resources could afford them.
On indirect primaries, he said that the process only differed with direct primaries in terms of election of delegates at the ward levels.
Ortom said of all the processes of electing candidates, the consensus mode of election was the best.
“On the consensus mode, members of the party come together and agree on a candidate thereby saving money , time and it is devoid of rancour,” he said.
He appealed to the National Assembly to accept the reasons deduced by the president while refusing to assent to the bill.
He, however, agreed with parts of the amendment bill that adopted the electronic transmission of election results.
“It will engender transparency in the electoral system and also add value to the system, ” he said.(NAN) www.nannews.ng