‘Controversy over Electoral Act, plot to blackmail Buhari’

A supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari has described the Electoral Act controversy as unnecessary distraction to blackmail the President into signing the law with his eyes wide closed.

According to him, the Electoral Act is like a landmine laid in the path of the President by the PDP-led National Assembly, determined to force his hands, despite the fact that the President has unambiguously explained his reasons for not assenting to the Electoral Act.

He said the Act is fraught with dangers, which if ignored, could only create chaos and confusion during the 2019 elections.

The supporter said as a law-abiding leader, Buhari would not do anything that might portray him as someone who is indifferent to disregarding due process.

He explained that Nigeria is a signatory to the ECOWAS protocol that says you can’t pass a legislation within 90 days before election, and wondered why the President should ignore this issue.

Beside the fact of the ECOWAS protocol, the sources also expressed concern about the ongoing process leading to the elections, the registration, the primaries and the nomination of candidates all which have been completed on the basis of the 2010 electoral act. “Nobody wants to leave the elections open to contests in courts.”

He also alleged that the Electoral Act was full of booby traps that could undermine free and fair elections in 2019.