As reactions continue to trail the decision by President Mohammadu Buhari to decline assent to the electoral act, the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, has asked the National Assembly to veto President Muhammadu Buhari and enact the amended Electoral Act into law because his refusal to grant assent for the third time was unpatriotic.
IYC led by Mr Eric Omare, in a statement, said, “We call on the National Assembly to in line with the relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution and without delay, override the Presidential assent and enact the Electoral Act into law. National interest is over and above the interest of one individual or political party and must be protected.”
“The Ijaw Youth Council worldwide says that the refusal by President Buhari to assent to the Electoral Act, amendment after three attempts by the National Assembly is unpatriotic and amounts to elevating personal interest over and above national interest.
“The IYC completely reject the reasons advanced by President Buhari for refusing to assent to the amendment because they are weak and unjustifiable. Contrary to President Buhari’s claim that signing the Electoral Act now would cause confusion in the electoral process, in actual fact, it is the refusal to sign the Electoral Act amendment into law that has caused confusion and would cause more confusion in the days to come,” the group said.
It added, “One of the innovations introduced by INEC under President Jonathan was the card reader, however, the courts could not enforce the non-adherence to its usage because it was not backed by the Electoral Act. Therefore, President Buhari, who is a beneficiary of electoral reforms in Nigeria, ought to support efforts at making the use of card reader mandatory.”
“President Buhari’s refusal to assent to the Electoral Act amendment is a big setback to electoral reforms in Nigeria and has eroded citizens and stakeholders confidence in the 2019 general elections. Nigeria is obviously back to the era of do- or -die politics. This is a challenge to the National Assembly to protect the national interest,” IYC asserted.
