Adegboruwa Says NASS Inserted Direct Primary In Electoral Bill To Truncate Electronic Transmission Of Poll Results

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, who is also a human rights activist has blasted President Muhammadu Buhari and the Senate over the refusal of the President to give assent to the Electoral Act Ammendement Bill 2020.

Recall that the President had cited likely crisis in political parties as one of the reasons for withholding his signature from the bill which seeks to replace indirect primary with direct primary election as means of nomination of candidates for polls by political parties.

But Adegboruwa in a statement made available to THE WHISTLER on Tuesday said the President and the lawmakers were never serious about bequeathing a legacy of electoral reform to Nigerians.

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The lawyer said Buhari had achieved his major ambition, which is to rule the country, saying the President is not interested in leaving any legacy of electoral reforms.

He accused the lawmakers of fooling Nigerians with their announcement of having the.required number of.signatures needed to override the President’s veto on the bill.

Adegboruwa said, “This National Assembly cannot but toe the line of the executive, that is the plain truth, which is why the so-called signature collection amounted to nothing.

“The senators would then hurriedly proceed to grant approval to the President for more loans and also pass the much inflated budget wherein constituency projects have been sufficiently padded to empower the legislators to slug it out with their governors for the 2023 campaigns.

“It has now been suggested that it was all a plot by the ruling party to hoodwink Nigerians and that the section on direct primary election was only a booby trap inserted deliberately to truncate the desire of Nigerians for electronic transmission of results.

“Well, whatever it is, history will not be kind to those who have the golden opportunity to advance our democratic credentials but choose to bungle it.”

The lawyer also lambasted the 8th National Assembly led by Senator Bukola Saraki, who he said had the opportunity to restructure the country but bungled it.

He called on Nigerians not to lose hope but to demand enduring electoral reforms which would guarantee a fraud- free electoral system before the next general elections.

He said, “I have no doubt that most elections in Nigeria are not won according to the will and preference of the people and that politicians would do anything to keep things this way, but we as a people now have the golden opportunity to call the shots and get the people to elect their own leaders, for once.

“The combination of the President with the National Assembly should not overwhelm the people that elected them into office, but we should rather insist that they must do our will.

“The concern has been that political parties should be allowed multiple choices in picking their candidates for any election. Yes, that is good and desirable and that is why we gave them that opportunity since 1998 and they have not been able to use it to any democratic advantage, hence the need to try a new method. We cannot continue to indulge selfish leaders with the luxury of dictatorship in the running of the affairs of the political parties or else we may just well forget about civilian rule.

“So, whether they like it or not, whether they have a covenant with the President or not, the legislators must convene to side with the people as soon as they resume in January. Those signatures that were gathered in pretense must now translate into concrete action to actualize the mandate of the masses of Nigerians for true electoral reforms.

“We must not go into the 2023 general elections with the same Electoral Act that imposes fraud on our system or continue to pander to the whims and caprices of riggers.”