BY BENEDICT NWACHUKWU, ABUJA
National Chairman of National Conscience Party, Dr. Tanko Yunusa, has condemned in strong terms the amendment introduced by the National Assembly into the Electoral Act which effectively nuetralised electronic transmission of results, saying it was a great disservice to the country and democracy.
Yunusa while fielding questions from our correspondent said the National Assembly members owed the country a duty to make laws that would lead to development and progress of the country and added that the electoral law amendment was key to realising it but it had been frittered away.
“The electronic voting system ought to have been enhanced. We heard rumours that they wanted to change the electoral counting system to make sure it did not exist in the electoral Act. That was sabotage because the counting of votes electronically will automatically eliminate electoral frauds and make sure that there is seriousness in terms of confirmation of votes scored and ensure there is trust within the system. So it was important that the national assembly knew,” he said.
He reiterated that the idea of playing politics with serious national issues by the National Assembly members was unacceptable, noting that the PDP administration was guilty of the “evil” act when they had the majority.
“Yesterday, it was the PDP that enjoyed this, today it is the APC that is doing the same at the detriment of other political parties, it is not acceptable. So, electronic counting of votes ought to have been enhanced, and included in that electoral Act. If they had done that, it would have ensured free and fair elections.”
The NCP Chairman who also commented on the rampant defection of politicians from one party to another said it was happening because the Electoral Act gave room for that.
He argued that if there was a provision of the law that frowned at it, there would not be anything like jumping from one party to the other while still serving on the ticket of the party such members were leaving.
He said, “It is a fact that because the electoral Act gave room for all manner of manipulations where individuals can become members of a political party in the morning and change in the evening. That is not acceptable. That is why we have called for the Electoral Act to be amended in such a way that if you want to leave your political party, you have the freedom of association.
“When you leave your party, leave your seats so that you can contest on the ticket of another party because the moment you move from your party where you already had a manifesto. It is not right for you to carry another party’s manifesto and still maintain your seat. It is an abberation. It is not acceptable.”
Yunusa argued that if these governors and lawmakers thought they were popular, they should have left their seats to contest election. “That is how it supposed to be,” he said.
On the insecurity and the forthcoming Anambra State governorship election and the 2023 general elections, the former Chairman of Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) said what was happening now was not different from what happened in 2019, yet elections held.
He maintained that with the taking over of Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, and Bauchi states, the elections went ahead because there was more danger in not conducting elections than conducting elections.
“There is no doubt we have security challenge. Remember we had such challenges in 2019 where almost the whole of the North East was almost under siege, but election still went on. Remember Borno, Adamawa, Yobe and Bauchi were almost gone, yet, we still had elections. The danger is in not having the election.”
He maintained that the election in Anambra State was as good as conducted but added that the forthcoming election might not be as comfortable as it used to be.
“There must be presence of heavy security deployment to ensure that people come out to exercise their franchise. Most importantly also, the government should find a way of building trust among the people and calming them down, especially when it comes to the demands of the people and the area of constitutional reform or restructure which many people are agitating for. Once these things are put on the table, nerves will be calmed and elections will take place accordingly,” he noted.
