Many threats to 2023 polls —Kabiru Yusuf
By Saawua Terzungwe
The chairman of the Board of Media Trust Limited, publisher of Daily Trust titles and Trust TV, Malam Kabiru A. Yusuf, says agitations for power shift, insecurity and unsigned electoral legislation are threats to the conduct of the 2023 elections in Nigeria.
Welcoming guest at the Trust Dialogue in Abuja, Mallam Yusuf said action must be intensified to stem the current challenges bedevilling the nation.
He said though the President Muhammadu Buhari administration had made repeated promises at containing insecurity in the country, it appeared to be getting out of control.
Malam Yusuf said signing the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law by President Buhari would improve significantly, the credibility of the electoral process in the country.
“This march towards the 2023 general elections has started off amidst uncertainties about the possibility for free and fair polls. This is in part because, President Buhari has for the second time in three years, withheld his assent to an amended electoral law. He had done so on the eve of the 2019 general elections.
“Many citizens are optimistic that the amended Electoral Act 2021 will reasonably enhance transparency in our electoral processes. After adjustments by the National Assembly, it promised the president will have no choice but sign the latest version.
“Besides the concerns over the unsigned electoral legislation, the ageold debate over power shift is still a contentious matter as we countdown to February 18, 2023, presidential election.
“We are also confronted by intractable security challenges and an atmosphere of fear that pervades all parts of the country, especially its northern part.
“The Buhari administration has made repeated promises about dealing with insecurity, but the situation appears to be getting out of its control with each passing day.
“The familiar ethnic and religious jingoism threaten to becloud the debate about who has the right to contest for that position. This political storm is brewing at a time when the Nigerian economy is not in the best of shape.
“Our own democratic journey since 1999 has been full of ups and downs. We have had six general elections in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019. I will not like to dwell on whether, or not, those elections were credible or free and fair.
“What is obvious is that despite the imperfections, those electoral experiences have given us opportunities for introspection and learning, as the basis for strengthening our democratic institutions,” he said.