Uduaghan Urges Buhari to Sign Electoral Bill Into Law Without Further Delay

– Udughan calls for quick assent to electoral act.

– He also called for an electronic voting system.

The immediate former governor of Delta State, Emmanuel Uduaghan urged President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the Electoral Bill into law to improve the nation’s electoral process.

While noting that this address the anomalies witnessed during the just concluded general elections, Uduaghan also called for a gradual release of funds to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should begin with the 2020 appropriation bill.

Uduaghan made the call while speaking as the guest lecturer at the inaugural of Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan Annual Public Lecture of the Professor B.I.C .Ijomah Centre for Policy Studies and Research, University of Nigeria Nsukka, on the topic, “Making Nigeria’s Election Cleaner, Transparent and Credible”.

Calling for prompt punishment of electoral offenders to serve as a deterrent to others, the former Delta governor said a manual should be developed and used by the security agencies for the election security management.

YOU MAY READ >>>Former APC Chieftain Tells Buhari to Account for $1bn Withdrawn from ECA<<<

He also stated that all those arrested for violating the electoral laws should be punished expeditiously as lessons to others.

“Obviously, the setting up of the election offences’ court has been overdue and should be set up as quickly as possible. INEC should be more rigorous in its selection of ad hoc staff. This should be done on time and series of training conducted long before the election, to allow for local people to identify partisan officials that might slip through the cracks.

“The role of INEC is central to everything concerning electoral politics. Is INEC truly independent and capable; not just in Abuja but across the various states, local governments and wards? If I am being fair, I would say that INEC standard has not been kept across the states, local governments and wards. I call on INEC to closely reset its team on the ground.”

He, therefore, urged the electoral agency to come up with a fail-safe system that will further improve on the efficiency and the efficacy of the card reader.

He also called on Nigerians to take a second look at the electronic voting and electronic transmission of results.