The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, CNPP, on Wednesday disclosed that enemies of democracy misled President Muhammadu Buhari into believing that the amendment of the Electoral Act by the National Assembly was targeted at his re-election bid.
While stating that Buhari was ill-advised into withholding assent to the recently passed Electoral Act amendment by the legislature, CNPP called on the lawmakers to invoke their veto powers and sign the amendment into law in the interest of the country.
Recall that Buhari had yesterday turned down the Electoral Act amendment bill in two separate letters addressed to the Senate president, Bukola Saraki and speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara.
Reacting in a statement by its Secretary-General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, the CNPP stated that the move gives the President away as one who is not concerned about deepening democracy and has no interest in the credibility of elections after his tenure.
It insisted that no sacrifice was too much to save the country and the Nigerian democracy from nose-diving into a one party state.
The statement reads, “those advising the President on the reordered electoral sequence must have deceived him that the amendment was targeted at his reelection. In any case, is Nigeria not greater than any one man’s ambition?
“The President should focus on conducting a free and fair election like the previous government, which conducted the election that brought him into office.
“The truth of the matter is that a President that has done well will be reelected irrespective of the date the presidential election was conducted.
“Therefore, the unannounced fear of the Presidency that the amendment will adversely affect President Muhammadu Buhari’s reelection is unfounded as the withholding of the President’s assent is not in his interest. The action is strongly portraying Mr. President as one who is not concerned about deepening democracy and has no interest in the credibility of elections after his tenure.
“We therefore urge the representatives of the people at the National Assembly to immediately invoke their constitutional powers and veto the President’s assent to move the country forward on the path of true democracy.”
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