Udom Emmanuel: Electoral bill passage, key to unlocking Nigeria’s potentials

The passage of the electoral bill is crucial to the furtherance of Nigeria’s democracy, as against the ongoing process review of the nation’s constitution, Udom Emmanuel, governor of Akwa Ibom, has said.

The Akwa Ibom governor said taking the nation on the path of constitutional review would portend a deliberate distraction when the issue of electoral bill which should assure Nigerians of their stake in the democracy is on ground.

He called on Nigerians to defy partisanship in such issue of national interest.

The governor, who stated this on Thursday while hosting the south-south zonal executives of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), at government house, Uyo, said though the electoral bill may not be a single solution to all of Nigeria’s problem, it is a major step forward.

He maintained that Nigeria has tried democracy over the years as a borrowed system and with the level of success so far, it has become expedient to streamline the system.

“You are just trying to distract us from what you are supposed to do. Pass Electoral bill, pass Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), then you can talk of Constitution Review,” he said.

“Don’t muddle up issues and get people confused along the line.… To assure Nigerians that their votes will count, the electoral Bill is fundamental, important and urgent and so must be treated same.

“So if we really mean business that we want to do democracy, then let’s do it right. As at today, oil price is $72 per barrel, while our budget benchmark was less than $40, yet there is not a dollar in the excess crude account. Even our 13% derivation is not given to us.

“They say they are using it to pay for subsidy and we don’t know those consuming 93 million litres of petrol every day. Tell me, what logistics do we have in Nigeria to support importation of 93 million litres of petrol every day.

“We don’t have pipelines to pump the product to every part of the country at once. How many trucks do we have in Nigeria? Which roads do we have that the trucks use to transport the fuel to far North-east, South-east and all over the country and then come back to evacuate another 93 million litres every day.

“Even during COVID, we were still paying for subsidy on daily basis, but there was no movement. Who were those moving with the petrol, we don’t know. All these to deny us of the 13% derivation, when we can barely pay salaries and to construct a kilometre of road here takes about eight times the cost of making it in other regions.”