Timi Frank, former deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has called on the national peace committee to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the 2018 electoral bill into law.
The peace committee is headed by Abdulsalami Abubakar, former head of state.
Frank said the new electoral bill will not only ensure a free, fair and credible election, but will also help reduce cases of electoral fraud and violence.
He alleged that the APC was plotting to rig the forthcoming elections, adding that the refusal to sign the bill is part of the agenda.
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“If Mr President does not have any hidden agenda, regarding the 2019 election, why is he playing lip service to guaranteeing a peaceful election, but refusing also to signing the Electoral Bill which has been amended to his taste,” Frank said in a statement.
“Again, this is to inform the security agencies and INEC that any attempt to rig the will of the people in the coming polls will be resisted by Nigerians.
“Our experiences recently in Ekiti, Osun and the recent Kwara state bye elections, by the current INEC leadership, has left no one in doubt about the neutrality and sincerity in delivering a free, fair and credible elections in 2019.”
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Frank said the opposition has lost confidence in the leadership of the INEC and security agencies to conduct a credible election.
“As it is now, opposition has lost confidence in the current leadership of INEC, Police and other security agencies because of their political affiliation with the APC, and as evident with their partisanship at the launch of President Buhari’s Next Level campaign recently,” he said.
“For President Buhari to show that he is committed to a peaceful election, the President must be committed to signing the 2018 Electoral Act as amended into law.
“The opposition is ready to accept defeat should they lose under a transparent free, fair and credible elections strengthened by extant laws, and not under a bizarre situation where the ruling party, INEC and the police are perceived by their actions and inactions, conniving for a common purpose to rig.
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“I’m also using this opportunity to call on the United Nations, United State of America, European Union and African Union, to lend their voices to compel President Buhari to sign the Electoral Act 2018 as amended into law, proving to the world that he is committed to a peaceful elections in 2019.”
The senate had passed the electoral bill in October after addressing the concerns raised by the president when he initially rejected it.
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