- Say don’t disappoint Nigerians, international community
Deji Elumoye in Abuja
The Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) under the aegis of Civil Society Partners on Electoral Reform have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari not to disappoint Nigerians and the international community by ensuring he assents to the electoral act amendment bill.
They also urged the president to demonstrate courage and put an end to the suspense created by the delay in signing the bill that was transmitted to him last month by the National Assembly.
The CSOs said: “If the reports that the president will be travelling outside the country are true, Mr President should immediately give his assent to the bill to avoid the endless apprehension.”
The CSOs, in a statement signed by the Executive Director, Adopt A Goal for Development Initiative; Ariyo-Dare Atoye, Maryam Ahmed of Centre for Liberty; Jude Feranmi of Raising New Voices; Ken Eze of Speak Out Africa Initiative and Simi Olusola of The Nigerian Alliance, said Buhari’s legacy is at stake.
According to the groups, “The electoral legacy of President Buhari is at stake with this bill because all democratic and electoral institutions, the people and international partners on elections have invested their trust in it.
“We urge Mr President not to disappoint Nigerians, our foreign partners and the comity of democratic nations; we urge him to show courage, commitment and rise above partisanship to give assent to the bill.
“Our appeal to President Buhari is to end the suspense and the apprehension by signing this important bill in a matter of hours and before December 19.”
The civil society partners also stressed that the controversy over the mode of primaries is inconsequential and should not stop the president from signing the bill.
According to them, an argument over a phantom N500 billion cost has been debunked, while the concern over lack of a standard register for party members is not an issue.
“To conduct indirect primaries, there must be at least two direct primaries to elect ward executives and ad hoc delegates.
“In essence, the argument that these parties do not have a standard register to meet up the demand of direct primaries is weak and inconsequential,” the statement said.
