The Unified Nigerian Youth Forum has described the signing of the Electoral Act by President Muhammadu Buhari as an historic milestone recorded in the annals of Nigerian democracy.
The Youth on Friday urged Mr President to immediately release funds for the electoral process towards 2023 general elections to commence, while tasking the National Assembly to ignore the amendment sought by the President, which could have given political appointees, intending to contest the election, leeway not to resign their appointments before declaring their intention.
According to a statement signed by the President, Unified Nigerian Youth Forum, Comrade Abdulsalam Moh’d Kazeem, “the decision of Mr president to sign the electoral bill into law today came very late, but is still far better than when he declined. This act is commendable at any rate, as we believe and hope that history will be fair to him on this singular act. The said bill will bring significant visible changes to our entire electoral space.
“The new Bill features the following clauses; electronic tramission of results; compulsory usage of card readers: making provision for people living with disabilities and special needs; resignation of political offices holders before the conduct of party primaries; conduct of party primaries at least 180 days before the general election; INEC can now review results previously declared under duress; and so.
“To us as objective observers and stakeholders in the Nigerian project, all the clauses introduce in the bill is aimed at strenghting our democracy at all levels and to equally bring to a complete and logical end all forms of party manipulations that always try to undermine the institution saddled with the responsibilities of conducting election in Nigeria.
“The credibility of our poll’s will bring about positive impact on us among committee of nations, therefore the appeal by President Muhammadu Buhari to both leadership of the 9th National Assembly to immediately amend the Act and expunge Section 84 should be ignored.
“The Section 84 stipulated that anyone holding any political office either as a minister, commissioner, special adviser and others, must relinquish the position before they can be eligible to participate either as a delegate or candidate, should be outrightly ignored since the requst is not in the interest of nation democracy and the institution saddle with the conduct of our election.
“Anything short of this will further prove to Nigerians that our legislative arm of government is a rubber stamp as previously alleged by many political affairs analyst.
The president must at the point prove to us that national interest supersede individual and personal demands by not using his above requst to delay the release of fund which in return will slow down preparations of the 2023 general elections.”
