…Says President Pushing Nigeria to the Brinks
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organization
(PPCO) charges the National Assembly to save the nation’s democracy by
immediately overriding President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to sign the
amendment of the Electoral Act.
The PDP Campaign says this legislative action has become imperative as
the President’s decision is a calculated attempt to hold the nation to
ransom, inject crisis into the electoral process and ultimately scuttle
the conduct of the 2019 general elections, seeing that there is no way
he can win in a free and fair contest.
President Buhari’s repeated refusal to sign amendments passed to check
rigging in the election, raises issues of his sincerity of purpose and
has the capacity to trigger political unrest and violence, which can, in
turn, truncate our hard-earned democracy.
The PPCO invites Nigerians to note that this is the fourth time
President Buhari is withholding assent on the amendment, without any
cogent reason following his rejection by Nigerians.
Nigerians can recall how the Buhari Presidency plotted to plunge the
2019 elections into a needless controversy by delaying the submission of
the election budget to the National Assembly, presenting it at the time
the legislators were commencing their annual vacation and asking for
virement of funds already approved for development projects, instead of
sending a fresh supplementary budget for the election.
It is unfortunate that Mr. President, in his desperation to hold on to
power, has resorted to taking steps that are capable of destabilizing
our nation, just because the people are resolute in voting him out of
office democratically.
It is also instructive to note that President Buhari is mortally afraid
of the amendments because they essentially checked the All Progressives
Congress (APC) rigging plans, including the use of underage and alien
voters, vote-buying, alteration of results and manipulation of voter
register; for which the APC and the Buhari Presidency have been boasting
of winning the 2019 elections.
While urging the National Assembly to save our democracy and forestall
an imminent electoral crisis, the PPCO also charges all political
parties, other critical stakeholders and Nigerians in general, to rise
in the interest of our nation and demand the entrenching of rules and
processes that will guarantee the conduct of free, fair and credible
elections, as nothing short of that would be accepted.
Signed:
Kola Ologbondiyan
Director, Media & Publicity
PDP Presidential Campaign Council
