The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised an alarm over the delay in assenting to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill passed by the National Assembly, saying it is a plot by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to perpetuate itself in power.

Addressing a world press conference in Abuja, National Publicity Secretary of the party Hon. Debo Ologunagba, said of President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal can lead to violence and humanitarian crisis capable of affecting the West African sub region.

The party said they were concerned that less than a year to the 2023 general elections, Buhari and the APC administration is “heightening apprehension across the country and orchestrating a constitutional impasse that can railroad our democracy into an emergency tenure elongation”.

The spokesman accused the Buhari administration of plotting to postpone the election or “worst still an interim government situation.”

He said there was growing tension with the capacity to spawn “widespread restiveness with consequential violence, bloodletting and attendant humanitarian crisis in the country that may affect the entire West Africa subregion, Europe, America and other parts of the world if not addressed.

“This is because Nigerians, especially the youths have become more politically aware and involved, with well-founded and implacable aversion to injustice, oppression, manipulations and undemocratic tendencies as being witnessed under the APC administration. Evidence of this mood became manifest in the EndSARS protest of October 2020.”

The Party also said it was in possession of information about how some selfish “unelected cabinet ministers, advisers and other top government functionaries with ambitions for presidential, governorship and other elective positions are mounting pressure on President Buhari not to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill to enable them remain longer in office so as to continue to use public funds to corruptly pursue their personal political interests.

It said, “President Buhari who claims to be fighting corruption is condoning and encouraging this inordinate access to public funds in pursuit of private ambitions. The only way Mr. President can extricate himself is to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill immediately.”

The opposition party called on Nigerians, the Organised Labour, Civil Society, Student Bodies, Trade Unions to impress it upon Buhari to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

It asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to “stand on the side of democracy, to get prepared to use technology that abound to ensure the direct transmission of election results from the polling units in the 2023 elections.”

Earlier in the day, presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, had said Buhari would sign the bill.

Source:- Daily Trust

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