About 40 presidential candidates participating in the forthcoming general elections have threatened to sue President Muhammadu Buhari for refusal to sign the 2018 Electoral Bill as amended.
The chairman, Forum of Presidential Candidates and presidential candidate of Advanced Peoples Democratic Alliance (APDA) Alhaji Shitu Mohammed Kabir, who raised an alarm on what he termed “deliberate hurdles” capable of derailing the 2019 general elections, said the new Act which stipulates electronic verification of voters and transmission of results will deliberately disenfranchise many voters especially in the rural and remote areas of the country owing to obvious constraints of power supply and internet connectivity.
Recall that chairmen of about 70 registered political parties also threatened to pull out of the 2019 general elections if President Buhari failed to sign the amended electoral bill already transmitted to him by the National Assembly.
The statement read, “IPAC resolved that in view of the fact that Nigerian’s want free, fair and credible elections in 2019 which the new Electoral Bill before President Muhammadu Buhari promises, we as major stakeholders in the electoral process call on the President to sign the bill into law.
“Should he refuse, then we will not be part of the electoral process in 2019 that doesn’t promise credibility and fairness.
“The delay/refusal to sign the bill will throw the country into the worst bloody electoral conquest and put INEC in a tight situation that will make free and credible election impossible in 2019,” the parties said.
But in a statement made available to Blueprint Sunday through the forum’s media consultant, Tajudeen Kareem, the APDA presidential candidate, who spoke at the weekend after a meeting of the forum, argued that the time is rather too close to the election to enable INEC train its staff, especially its ad hoc staff, on how to handle the electronic devices. “We shouldn’t give INEC any excuse to postpone the elections,” he cautioned.
“We don’t see INEC responding fast enough in cases where their devices malfunction. The constraints and impediments of time and resources in difficult terrains will deliberately deny many local communities the opportunity to vote,” he spoke shortly after the 40 presidential candidates under the Forum rose from a meeting at the weekend.
The forum while threatening to drag President Muhammadu Buhari and INEC to court worry that those pushing for assent to the new bill may unwittingly derail the electoral calendar if the electoral umpire is forced to adjust its programme to accommodate the personnel, budget and other logistics in the guise of abiding with the provisions of the new law.
He also picked holes in the provision of Sections 84-87 which is capable of weakening the powers of political party executives on party primaries and choice of candidates. “My concern is how to avoid unnecessary litigations and protect the sanctity of the electoral process,” he said.
