2023: Tambuwal Counsels Buhari against Repeat of 2019 Electoral Defects

2023: Tambuwal Counsels Buhari against Repeat of 2019 Electoral Defects
  •  Urges Buhari to bequeath an enduring legacy
  • Says institutional defects threat to democratic stability

Gboyega Akinsanmi

Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal saturday advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to bequeath a defective electoral system on the nation.

Tambuwal, Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum (PDPGF), also asked the president to toe the path of honour and dignity by bequeathing a durable democratic system imbued with workable institutional structures that could stand the test of time to Nigeria.

He gave the warning in a statement his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Muhammad Bello issued in response to a comment credited to one of the president’s trusted allies, Alhaji Ismailia Isa Funtua.

Funtua, a former President of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), had reportedly admitted at the 40th anniversary of the Silverbird Group that something was going wrong in the country.

Reacting to Funtua’s remarks, Tambuwal, who emerged the Silverbird Man of the Year, appealed to the president to leave a legacy that he would be remembered for.

He said “Before he came to power in 2015, I was one of those that had respect and admiration for him. I had my expectation like other Nigerians who are very patriotic and committed to the course of democracy and good governance in this country.”
Rhetorically, the Sokoto governor asked: “But can we say so in 2019? We knew what happened in the general election. Is that the legacy that President Muhammad Buhari wants to leave?”

He, therefore, urged Nigerians “to make sure that our institutions are working. We do not need strong men in Nigeria. We need strong institutions.”
He listed some institutional defects threatening democratic stability in the country as the introduction of a ‘new lexicon’ known as ‘inconclusive’ into the electoral system, travesty of justice, brazen use of the elements of coercion to prosecute elections conduct and insecurity.

“We, as practitioners in politics, know what we are doing. We should know that, first, there is God. We are supposed to respect the voting rights of our citizens. We must not continue to manipulate our ways to power and we must desist from attempts to emasculate our judicial system.

“What we need to do is to make sure that we reform our electoral system and allow the system to exercise the franchise, conduct free, fair election and whoever wins should be so declared. We should allow the votes to count.

“We should allow the security personnel to go and face the real challenges that we have in Nigeria. Not that when we have elections, they will fly people to Kogi, Bayelsa, Osun; leaving behind people in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, allowing Boko Haram to be traversing the length and breadth of the country.

“We should be able to tell ourselves the truth. So far, nothing is wrong with our system. It is not about the law. It is about the managers of the system. We must be conscious of the fact that we will go back to God almighty one day and we shall be accountable to Him of our deeds.
He expressed optimism that the country has resources, both human and natural, to ensure that things work properly. What is lacking is sincere, committed and patriotic devotion’ on the part of the leadership.”

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