PDP Governors Urge Buhari to Sign Electoral Bill

 Governors on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have said President Muhammadu Buhari is not willing to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

The assertion was made in a communique issued at the end of their meeting in Bayelsa State yesterday. The governors, however, urged the president to sign the bill.

Recall that President Mohammadu Buhari had stated that the disparity in the mode of primaries was the reason behind his refusal to assent to the bill, the n

the National Assembly had gone back to amend the bill and transmitted it back to the president on January 31.

Meanwhile, the presidency had on February 10 stated that President Buhari is still consulting critical stakeholders on whether to sign the electoral act amendment bill or not.

However, “The PDP Governors urged Mr. President to immediately sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law,” the communique signed by the 11 governors read.

“Waiting to run out the 30 days is yet another sign of unwillingness by Mr. President to give Nigeria a reformed Electoral framework. If there are still misgivings on any aspect of the Bill Amendments may be introduced at a later stage.”

In a related development, the main opposition party has reacted to Saturday’s poll in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). They congratulated their party over its victory in 43 out of 62 Councillorship positions.

The party who noted the improvements in the conduct of elections, however, stressed that Gwagwalada and Abuja Area Council results show that manipulations are still possible.

They, therefore, called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to work on all areas that need improvement on the functioning of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BIVAS) machine for future elections.

Read the communique below :

COMMUNIQUE ISSUED BY THE PDP GOVERNORS’ FORUM AT THE END OF THEIR MEETING IN YENAGOA BAYELSA STATE

The PDP Governors’ Forum held its regular meeting on Monday, 14th February 2022, at the Bayelsa State Government House, Yenagoa.  The meeting reviewed once again the state of the nation, the readiness of the PDP to rescue the nation from APC misrule, and issued the following Communique:

The PDP Governors urged Mr. President to immediately sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law. Waiting to run out the 30 days is yet another sign of unwillingness by Mr. President to give Nigeria a reformed Electoral framework. If there are still misgivings on any aspect of the Bill Amendments may be introduced at a later stage.

The Governors congratulated PDP for winning 43 out of 62 Councillorship positions in the Abuja Area Council election results, just concluded. In spite of improvements in the conduct of elections, the Gwagwalada and Abuja Area Council results show that manipulations are still possible. They urged INEC to tighten all observed loopholes and further improve the functioning of the BIVAS Machine for future elections.

The Governors expressed their displeasure on the issue of contaminated Fuel supplied to Nigerians and urged the government to bring perpetrators to account.

The Governors frowned at the duplicity, inconsistency, insincerity of the APC-led Federal Government on the fuel subsidy regime, which has been badly and corruptly administered. The figures of consumption ascribed to Nigerians appear fictitious and bloated. They called for a proper investigation to be conducted on this matter.

The Forum welcomed the Court decision on Police Trust Fund deductions from the Federation Account, a suit at the instance of Rivers State. It urged the Federal Government to stop similar unconstitutional deductions from the Federation Account.

In the same vein, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission should expedite action on the new Revenue Allocation formula in such a way as to increase allocation to States and Local Government.

The Forum once again lamented how the CBN is being run as an alternate government, indeed, a government within a Government. It is time to streamline its functions and processes to be constitutionally compliant.

The Forum once again decried the opaque nature of NNPC operations. They called for accountability and reconciliation of NNPC remittances into the federation account.

As the National Assembly winds down this current phase of the Constitution Review exercise, the Forum urged that they revisit the devolution of more powers to the States and Local Governments.

This opportunity to rejig the framework for policing and securing Nigeria should not be missed. To this end, the Forum would set up a Panel of Consultants to have a thorough look at the security architecture of Nigeria and make recommendations.

The Governors also urged the National Assembly to transfer items from the Exclusive Legislative List to Concurrent List.

The PDP Governors congratulated His Excellency, Governor Douye Diri, on his second anniversary in office as he has made a positive difference for the people of Bayelsa State. They thanked him for being such a gracious and wonderful host.