‘Huge relief’ — Fayemi lauds signing of electoral bill into law

Kayode Fayemi, governor of Ekiti state, says it is a “huge relief” that President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the revised electoral act amendment bill into law. 

The governor spoke on Friday after the signing of the bill by Buhari at the presidential villa in Abuja.

Fayemi, who is the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), said the new law complies with international norms as well as the aspirations of ordinary Nigerians.

“I think it’s a huge relief that this piece of legislation has been finally signed 12 years after the last one,” he said.

“The last electoral act operating is a 2010 act and we must commend the national assembly, particularly the committee on INEC both in the senate and the house of reps for doing such a yeoman’s job of putting this together, and ensuring that we have a law, that can accord with global standards, and also with the yearnings of the ordinary Nigerians.

“There’s been a lot of hullabaloo about this over the last few weeks, even bordering on scepticism that it would not be signed. I’m glad that some of us have been proved right because we told the media that Mr president will sign this piece of legislation as soon as the section that he raised concerns about are removed from the legislation, and they’ve been removed, and he’s lived up to that belief that many of us have because he has always said to Nigerians anyway, that one legacy he would like to leave as he departs office is a credible and fair electoral system. And this will go a long way in making that possible.”

Also speaking on the development, Yabagi Sani, national chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), said the law will facilitate free and credible elections.

“I feel elated, elated in the sense that today, we have gotten the fundamental ground norms that will ensure that elections are credible, peaceful, and also by bringing in the electronic transfer of results from the polling units, that, in itself has cut out a lot of things that have bedevilled electoral processes in this country,” he said.

“We can also say that the kind of violence that we normally witness will be, if not completely absent, will be reduced to the barest minimum. And we can also see that today, Nigeria, that every country looked up to as a leader, because, you know, we are the biggest economy, we are the most populous country, we represent the black race, you know, and therefore, if Mr president has done this, he has done the black race proud.”