From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom on Saturday noted that the recent amendments to the Electoral Act by President Muhammadu Buhari will encourage transparency in the electoral process and lead to the emergence of true representatives of the people.
The governor who stated this in a chat with reporters at Mbatiav, Gboko Local Government Area of the state commended the president for assenting to the amended Electoral Bill.
It would be recalled that the president who had earlier declined assent to the Bill as passed by the National Assembly after observing certain objections finally signed it on Friday, February 25.
‘I am happy that Mr President has heeded to calls to sign the amended Electoral Act. This will lead to a transparent, free and fair electoral process in this country. That is the beginning of good things to happen in our country. So I commend him for the assent.”
Governor Ortom also applauded the president for rejecting Section 84(12) of the amended Electoral Act, saying the action is democratic and should be commended.
‘The president did well by indicating that Section 84(12) should be deleted or amended to ensure that we do not cause unnecessary hardship to those in government who want to participate in the electoral process of our country. That is a welcome development because the president did not arbitrarily delete or reject it but decided to send it back to the National Assembly for action.
‘The action is democratic and is left to the National Assembly to see what can be done in that regard. I am sure our representatives will look at it in consultation with us and if they feel it should be deleted, that will be done. So it’s a welcome development,’ the governor stated.
He stated further that the acceptance of electronic transmission of results has finally been laid to rest, the begging issue of election rigging which had plagued the country’s elections in the past.
‘It shows that we have said bye-bye to rigging because it has been a very big challenge where you campaign rigorously and win an election and then somebody sits somewhere and writes figures that are not real. But with the electronic transmission to Abuja, it will go a long way in curtailing changing of results and by so doing we will have true representatives and things will work out well for our country Nigeria.’
Governor Ortom advised the president to always listen to the voice of reason from Nigerians, stressing that when the president does something that is commendable, he will not hesitate to say it openly but will also not hesitate to criticise constructively when things are not going on correctly.
‘When the president does something that is good, I will commend him but that does not mean I will hesitate in criticising constructively when things are not going on correctly. And I advise Mr president to always listen to the voice of reason from the people just as he has done on the issue of assent to the amended Electoral Act for things to work well in the country,’ he stated.