Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has urged the Nigerian media to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the amended Electoral Act.
The Governor made the call in Abuja on Wednesday at an event organized by ThisNigeria.
Wike also charged the media to as a matter of necessity, educate Nigerians on the need for electronic transmission of election results for the benefit of the nation’s democracy.
He also challenged the media to enlighten Nigerians on the benefits of both direct and indirect primaries.
“Who are those to benefit more if the direct primaries is conducted? Who are those to benefit more if it is indirect primaries? So, it is important that Nigerians should know why there should be electronic transmission of result in order to save our democracy,” he stated.
He said any electoral system that allowed security agencies and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission to be used to manipulate the process wouks not yield accountable governance.
He also commended the INEC for the conduct of the Anambra State Governorship election.
“Now, they have performed well in Anambra State, everybody is praising them. But when they did not perform well in Rivers State, should we praise them? We cannot. When a general in the Army will convert a whole division to INEC office, will you be happy?” He queried.
The call by Governor Wike is coming few weeks after he threatened to challenge the Electoral Act in court if the President signs it in its current form that allows for direct primaries.
The guest speaker, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah, who delivered the ThisNigeria inaugural lecture blamed the drafters of the Nigerian constitution for the country’s lack of national cohesion.
“Something as fundamental as a constitution, the debate and the issues that ought to form the kernel of our governance have never been subjected to the intellectual rigour that is required.
“The result is that we have never debated our constitution based on the peculiarities, the cultural expectations, the hopes, the anxieties, the fears of ordinary Nigerians,” he noted.
