President Muhammadu Buhari’s unwillingness to approve the electoral act bill, according to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is due to the ruling party’s desire to prevent electronic transmission of results in 2023.
On November 19, the electoral bill was forwarded to the president for his signature.
Buhari, on the other hand, opposed the bill, claiming that it would expose the voting system to lawsuit.
The president further stated that the direct primary recommendations “violate the spirit of democracy.”
Debo Ologunagba, the PDP’s spokesperson, accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempting to “rig” the 2019 general election in a statement released on Wednesday.
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“APC has been in trepidation of the amendment to the Electoral Act, due mainly to the provision of electronic transmission of election results, which will completely eliminate APC’s manipulations and alteration of results at elections,” the statement reads.
“It is imperative to remind Nigerians of how the APC, in collusion with their leaders in the national assembly, fought hard to stop the electronic transmission of results provision in the bill but were resisted by Nigerians, supported by the courageous action of the PDP caucus in the house of representatives which staged a walkout only for the APC to orchestrate controversies and set the stage for the withholding of assent by Mr. president.
“The main reason for this manipulation of the legislative process by the APC is to prevent the electronic transmission of results so that it can continue in its culture of rigging and electoral impunities including alteration of results at collation, ballot box snatching, destruction of data among others; just to cling to power against the will of Nigerians.
“Such is consistent with the APC’s well-known machination against every genuine effort to instil credible, transparent, free and fair elections in Nigeria in the last six years.”
