Ahead of the gubernatorial and state Houses of Assembly elections, Senate President Ahmad Lawan has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to consider all issues raised by the public during the just concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections.
Lawan who spoke during Senate Plenary in Abuja Thursday, said for a smooth conduct of the forthcoming governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections, INEC needed to address all issues raised.
Specifically, the Senate President charged the INEC to abide by the Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022 in the conduct of the next week’s election.
He also called for people’s support for all the lawmakers contesting governorship race.
He said: “I think INEC should consider looking into issues raised by the public. INEC should be strictly guided by the Constitution and the Electoral Act and their guidelines and regulations.
“Nigerians should support INEC in whatever way they can so that it conducts the governorship and states assembly elections successfully.
“This is because that is what we all expect and that is what we need as a democracy. We will be out of this place for the next two weeks and come back and continue our legislative functions.
“I thank every senator for doing everything possible to make this Ninth Senate a success.
“We have finished this legislative week. The idea of reconvening immediately after the Presidential and National Assembly elections was to ensure that we are abreast with the whole situation both that happened during election and are happening now.
“This is so that we remain part and parcel of the solution where necessary and we have achieved that and we have also in the process done other legislative work.
“We have to adjourn for all of us to participate in the campaigns and elections of the governors and states assembly members.”
The Senate president further informed that seven serving senators were contesting in the governorship election.
He listed those contesting on the All Progressives Congress(APC) platform to include Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege in Delta state; Aishatu Binani in Adamawa; Uba Sani (Kaduna); Emmanuel Bwacha (Taraba) and Teslim Folarin in Oyo state, while Haliru Jika of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and Sandy Onor of the People’s Democratic Party(PDP) are candidates in Bauchi and Cross River states, respectively.
“We wish all of them success and Nigeria will be making history, this Senate will be making history.
“Senator Binani will make history if elected to be the first Nigerian female governor.
“We wish all our colleagues contesting and those of us who are not running should all go and participate in the processes because we will be able to observe first hand, some of the issues that may arise.
“During the Presidential and National Assembly election on a general note, everything went on fine, but still we have one or two complaints coming from the public,” he stressed.
Senator Lawan was on Saturday February 25, 2023 re-elected to represent Yobe north at the Senate.
The victory ensured that Lawan returned to the National Assembly a record seventh time since 1999.
He served two terms at the legislative arm as a member of the House of Representatives between 1999 and 2007, while the ranking lawmaker has now won Senate seat five times.
