As results of the Presidential and National Assembly elections continue trickling in, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has advised aggrieved politicians to adopt only the laid down legal procedures to address their grievances.
Gbajabiamila warned Tuesday as he welcome his colleagues back to plenary after a break for the elections.
“The constitution of our republic and the Electoral Act that governs elections in Nigeria both define a framework of post-election dispute resolution and adjudication. This framework exists to protect the integrity of our elections. It ensures that when elections fail to meet expectations, contested issues of facts and law can be resolved through a due process within a legal framework befitting a constitutional democracy.
“It is not in the interests of our country, now or ever, to advocate for or embrace extralegal interventions to resolve electoral disputes and address grievances”, he stated in his address.
On the ongoing collation of election results, he said: “We expect shortly to be informed who will be the next president of our republic and the people who will represent Nigerians in the 10th assembly. Elections in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-party democracy too often devolve into faultlines, generating abundant conflict and controversy.
“The test of an advanced democracy is the ability to manage grievances and settle disagreements without causing fatal damage to the body polity.
“We must avoid actions or utterances that set the stage for interventions that could be fatal to our democracy and the gains we have made over the last two decades. This is the time, despite whatever disappointments we may each feel, to reject considerations of partisan and other interests to come together and make sure first that our country survives and our imperfect democracy continues its march towards progress and a more perfect union.”
