From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal has appealed to the members of the National Assembly to be guided by the national interest in the consideration of the Electoral Act amendment bill.
Governor Tambuwal, in a statement on Monday, urged the federal lawmakers to ensure that the proposed electoral law must give the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the prerogative of introducing electronic transmission of results in any election.
There has been public outcry over the alleged removal of electronic transmission of election results from the proposed Electoral Act amendment bill, which is scheduled for consideration and passage by both chambers of the National Assembly, this week.
However, the Sokoto governor noted that INEC has already demonstrated and assured that it has the technology to transmit votes electronically even without the use of the internet.
Governor Tambuwal, who is also a former speaker of the House, added that the electronic transmission of results in the last Edo and Ondo governorship polls ensured that the wishes of the electorate prevailed.
According to him, ‘we believe, that it is in the national interest to bequeath to Nigeria an Electoral Act that will contribute to free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria irrespective of the party platform.
‘We have seen many times where a person may be in the ruling party today and in the opposition party tomorrow. We have also experienced a situation where party leaders would want to frustrate the re-election of a sitting member, even in the same political party.’