By Laraba MUREY
The Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sign into law the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021.
The union said Buhari’s assent will affirm his earlier commitment for leaving a legacy of credible electoral system in the country.
NUJ said having carefully examined the content of the proposed Electoral Bill 2021, ahead of the 2023 general election, the Act will empower the people to select their leaders as against forcing themselves on the people while improving democratic processes across the political parties in determining their representatives.
In a statement signed by its National President, Chris Isiguzo, the NUJ said:
“The time has come for the President to demonstrate his promise by signing the Electoral Act Amendment Bill before him to allow the people have a say in who becomes their leader right from the political party.”
In addition, “The NUJ is particularly pleased to note that President MuhammaduBuhari had assured that having gone through a herculean task before getting to the office as President, he would hand over to Nigerians an electoral system that would be to the benefit of the generality of Nigeria and not for a few.”
Isiguzo emphasised that “The NUJ strongly calls on President MuhammaduBuhari to discard all sorts of distractions from some self-serving politicians bent on influencing him not to sign the Electoral Amendment Bill into law. The President should allow posterity to remember him as one that restored power back to the people and not to be judged on the wrong side of history as he boldly steps towards strengthening the nation’s democracy and good governance.”
According to him, “The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), has taken a critical look at the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment 2021 by the two chambers of the National Assembly particularly with regards to the Direct Party Primaries clause which has become a subject of controversy between members of the Governors Forum, political parties and the Federal Legislators.
“We wish to commend the 9th National Assembly for taking the bold steps in trying to fine tune the electoral Bill in a manner that would translate into giving the people the power to determine who should be their leaders as against imposition usually experienced through the indirect primaries where political godfathers are usually the sole determinants of winners without consideration for the people they desire to lead.”
He further added, “We are however curious that some of the politicians that spend billions of Naira in purchasing votes at every election, are now complaining of high cost for Direct Party Primaries. It has to be stated in unambiguous terms, that no cost should be considered as too much in entrenching true and acceptable democracy in which the people are the real repository of power.”
“Critical evaluation has indicated that Indirect Party Primaries have not helped the growth of democracy in Nigeria as political office holders see themselves as being far above their subjects whose mandate they claimed to be holding in trust by making it difficult to hold them accountable as a result of the faulty process which saw them through to the office.” Isiguzo said,
