- Governor Nyesom Wike called on President Buhari to sign the electoral bill
- The Rivers governor said not signing the bill could cause tension during the election
- He said the Buhari will lose the 2019 elections if the bill is signed
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state has said the President Muhammadu Buhari’s withdrawal of assent to the amended electoral act is a threat to Nigeria’s existence.
Leadership reports that the Rivers governor made this claim when the Bishop of Niger Delta North, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Rt. Rev. Wisdom Ihunwo visited him at Government House in Port Harcourt.
Wike said the refusal of the president to sign the bill would generate political tension in 2019.
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He said: “This present administration does not want the existence of one Nigeria. We don’t know if there will be Nigeria after the 2019 General elections.
“The National Assembly tried to cure the defects of the Electoral Act that led to controversies during the 2015 elections. After the passage, the President kept on giving countless excuses why he wouldn’t sign the amended Electoral Act.
“The whole essence of not signing the Electoral Act is to rig the 2019 General elections. And in the plot to rig the 2019 elections, Rivers State comes first and Akwa Ibom State is the second on their list.”
The Rivers governor claimed President Buhari is aware that if he assents to the bill, he would lose the 2019 election.
“Now, they don’t want to use the smart card readers because they want to sit down and write results.
“It is painful that the President that says he is fighting corruption is leaving room for the rigging of the 2019 polls. There is no corruption worse than rigging. The President cannot set this country on fire”.
He called on all Nigerians to join in rescuing the country\s democracy.
Meanwhile, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, representing Delta central, has said the ECOWAS protocol on democracy and good governance forbids President Buhari from signing the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill.
According to him, Article 2 of the protocol forbids member countries from making “substantial modification” to their electoral laws less than six months to elections “except with the consent of a majority of political actors.”
Omo-Agege, who is a staunch supporter of the president, noted that with the elections less than three months away, signing the bill would violate the ECOWAS instrument.
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Source: Legit.ng