25th February, 2022
By Okafor Ofiebor /Port Harcourt
Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike has said President Muhammadu Buhari’s complain that Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act, 2022 will disenfranchise serving political office holders is selfish and not altruistic.
Wike said if Buhari truly believed in transparent election and that everybody should have a level playing ground, he would not be suggesting the amendment of the section which he claimed would disenfranchise serving political office holders from voting or being voted for at conventions or congresses of any political party.
Wike stated this in Port Harcourt on Friday while reacting to Buhari’s assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
He noted that the President’s complain that Section 84 (12) is ultra vires with the 1999 Constitution as amended, is neither here nor there.
“Mr President has told the world he is trying to protect some of his appointees who want to run election, and who are afraid of leaving office knowing full well that having left the office it would be difficult for them to assert or to influence the outcome of party primaries.
“If Mr President really believes in free, fair and transparent election, and for everybody to have a level playing ground, Mr President will not call for such amendment.”
Wike observed that Buhari was not willing to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law, but had to succumb to pressure mounted on him by Nigerians.
According to him, if the President had declined assent on the bill, the National Assembly would have been embarrassed and lost public confidence.
“For whatever it is worth, let us say Nigerians are happy that after all said and done, the President and the APC administration for the first time have bowed to pressure of Nigerians in order to have a law that enables our electoral process to be transparent. But again, this tells you the kind of party in power.”
The Rivers State governor stated that the emotions and tensions created in the polity by Buhari’s delay to assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill was unnecessary, particularly when Nigerians and those whom he claim would be disenfranchised have not complained about provisions of the Bill.
Wike said Buhari should allow ministers, commissioners, specials advisers who felt the provision of the Electoral Act would adversely affect them to proceed to court and challenge it.
“Mr President knows the function of the legislature is to make laws. The function of the executive is to implement the law, and the function of the judiciary is to interpret the law. Now Mr. President is not only doing the work of the executive, he has also delved into the work of the judiciary of interpreting the law, knowing where there is conflict. I wonder why Mr President didn’t know when he appended his signature to the Police Trust Fund, that was in conflict with the provision of the Constitution.”
Wike said one remarkable feature of the Electoral Act is that it would reduce the involvement of security agencies in the hijacking of ballot boxes and results.
He said the new law would also make public officers seeking re-election to be on their toes because their political fate will be solely determined by the electorate based on their performances.
Wike commended the National Assembly for granting Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC the power to transmit election results electronically and reject results that are issued under duress.”
“Electronic transmission of results will give confidence to the people, to the electorate and anybody who is elected will now sit up to say it is not going to be business as usual,” he said.