Buhari urged to sign amended Electoral Act into law before Edo gov poll

By Bisi Olaniyi, Southsouth Bureau Chief

The National Vice Chairman, Southsouth, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Emmanuel Ogidi, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to sign into law, the amendment Electoral Act, before the September 19 this year’s governorship election in Edo State.

He noted that having the Electoral Act signed into law would assist to end violence and manipulation of elections in Nigeria, thereby making the polls to be free, fair and credible.

Ogidi, a former Chairman of PDP in Delta State, stated these yesterday at Edo State secretariat of the main opposition PDP in Benin, after meeting with members of the State Working Committee (SWC) of the party, led by Dr. Tony Aziegbemi.

The zonal chairman of PDP said: “I am pleading with President Buhari to sign the amendment Electoral Act into law, because of the kind of violence we experienced in Bayelsa and Kogi States, which should not be experienced in Edo State. We will know that if the President does not sign the Electoral Act, that is what they want to apply again in Edo State, which is not good.

“They cannot defeat Boko Haram, but they are using military to fight elections. So sad. The COVID-19 that has come now is a good one, because e-voting is the easiest way to fight Coronavirus Disease. From the comfort of your home, you can vote. The excuses of no network and no server will no longer be tenable. I know that the galaxy has a backbone that can drive the process for us. Federal Government spent so much money on the galaxy backbone.

“We are waiting on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), because we have been told that on Thursday this week, the electoral body will come up with the protocols for the next election. After hearing from INEC on Thursday, we will know the next line of action.”

Ogidi also thanked Edo people for supporting PDP, while assuring that they would not be disappointed this time, but he asked them to remain patient.

He stressed that during the 2016 governorship election in Edo state, PDP members did not know what went wrong, but surprisingly lost the crucial poll, while declaring that the main opposition party would not lose this time.

He said: “PDP government will not deceive Edo people, because we have the experience. Unless a man marries two wives, he will not know the best. Edo people should be patient, because PDP is back, by the grace of God. We need to work hard to get Osadebey Avenue (Government House, Benin). That is why I am here (in Benin) to be sure that we get there, because we have been looking forward to it.

“I have not been happy since I became the zonal vice chairman of PDP. Each time I went to any of the states in the Southsouth, I kept saying I am not complete. It is like a man looking for a wife, until you marry, you are not complete. Until we have Edo State, we cannot proudly say that we are complete. Although, we have five of the six states in the Southsouth zone and our five governors are doing well, but we need Edo State to do well too.

“There is every need for PDP to take over Edo state. You can see how they are fighting in Edo APC. Unfortunately for us in PDP, we do not know how to be violent. If we were violent, we would have taken over power in Edo State in 2016. Let us be courageous and to always remember what they did to us in Bayelsa State. It was God that gave us the mandate. They tried to kill all of us. You saw what happened in Kogi State, where they had to use aircraft.

“We are going to do everything within God’s laid-down rules. Power belongs to God, Psalm 62:11. We must open our eyes. Look at what they are doing to themselves now in Edo State. Let us watch out. In PDP, we do not use arms, because we have the people with us. We will harvest more people from APC to increase our number and win the election. By the grace of God, we are going to win the election.”

The zonal chairman also admonished members of the main opposition party in Edo state to be vigilant and steadfast, but to shun violence, while being optimistic to emerge victorious without rigging or thuggery.

While earlier speaking, the Edo Chairman of PDP, Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, pointed out that as a members of SWC of the party, the only thing they were always thinking about was how to get PDP back to Osadebey Avenue (Government House, Benin).

Aziegbemi, a former member of the House of Representatives, assured PDP members in Edo state that the party’s eventual standard bearer would emerge victorious on September 19 and be inaugurated on November 12 this year, promising not to fail.

He said: “We have deliberated extensively with our immediate boss, the National Vice Chairman, Southsouth, of PDP. His message is that we need to have reconciliation with everybody, no matter the offence, that we should forgive and move forward.

“This is the starting point of our full reconciliation with all our members in PDP. Wherever the person is, he or she is important to us and we want everybody to be on board, because this election is ours to win. We will win it, if all of us come together.”

Edo chairman of PDP also reiterated that when he and other members of his executive were campaigning, they told the delegates to give them their mandate and the governorship candidate of the party would win the election, stressing that it was achievable, with the support of members of the PDP in Edo.