Governors under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law, saying the President’s reluctance to sign the bill into law was an indication of his unwillingness to give Nigeria a reformed electoral framework.
The position of the governors was contained in a communique issued at the end of their meeting at Bayelsa State Government House in Yenagoa, yesterday.
Those who attended the meeting are Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, Governor Ahmadu Fintir of Adamawa State, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State, and Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State.
Others include Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Delta State; Governor Godwin Obaseki, Edo State; Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Enugu State; Governor Oluseyi Makinde, Oyo State and Governor Nyesom Wike, Rivers State.
The communique, which was read by the Governor of Abia State and Vice Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, Okezie Ikpeazu, said: “The PDP Governors’ Forum held its regular meeting on Monday, February 14, 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 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.