From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Presidency has said President Muhammadu Buhari’s signing of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law, last Friday, was as a result of the cordial relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government and the need to deliver on the change Nigerians want.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said this in a statement made available to State House Correspondents, yesterday, in Abuja.
He said the signing of the Act ran parallel to what obtained in the past when self interest overrode the nation’s and the fashioning of electoral acts.
The presidential aide, said assent to the electoral law underscored Buhari’s commitment to ensuring free and fair elections, dignity of citizens, opportunity and justice to all political participants, whether they are voters or candidates.
“The assent to the Electoral Act 2022 by President Muhammadu Buhari after the back and forth on some controversial provisions underscores the perfect workings of a parliament and executive both driven by new energy to deliver change in a country where the people want to move in a different direction.
“More than anything else, this law underscores the government’s commitment to ensuring free and fair elections, dignity of the citizens, opportunity and justice to all political participants, whether they are voters or candidates.
“This law furthers social empowerment and inclusion by limiting the influence of money on elections and raw power of incumbents to the disadvantage of opponents outside the political tent. It equally limits the thuggish practice of kingpins who scare voters and officials away, snatch ballot boxes to fill desired outcomes against the popular wish.”
He said no democratic system of elections is perfect and that in every country that considers itself a democracy, those laws must be subject to a continual process of improvement.