By Emmanuel Oloniruha
The presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar says he “is not going away’’, but will continue to work to deepen democracy and rule of law.
Abubakar, the former Vice President, said this on Monday in Abuja at a world press conference on the judgment of the Supreme Court which affirmed the election of President Bola Tinubu
“As long as I breathe, I will continue to struggle, with other Nigerians to deepen our democracy and rule of law in order to attain the kind of political and economic restructuring the country needs.
“That struggle should now be led by the younger generation of Nigerians who have even more at stake than my generation,” he said.
Abubakar, who expressed his disappointment in the Supreme Court judgment proposed an urgent amendment of the Constitution and the Electoral Act.
According to him, such amendments should prevent any court or tribunal from hiding behind technicalities and legal sophistry to affirm electoral heists and undermine the will of the people.
He said that Nigeria democracy must be substantive and expressive through free, fair and transparent elections that respect the will of the people.
He also recommended that electronic voting and collation of results must be made mandatory.
“This is the 21st century. Countries less advanced than Nigeria are doing so already.
Abubakar also recommended that all litigation arising from a disputed election should be concluded before the inauguration of a winner.
“This was the case in 1979. Currently, the timeframe between elections and inauguration of winners is inadequate to dispense with election litigations.
Abubakar also recommended that a candidate for presidential election should earn minimum of 50 per cent of the valid votes cast, failing which a run-off should be held between the top two candidates.
He recommended a single six-year term for President to be rotated among the six geo-political zones to reduce the desperation of incumbents and promote equity and national unity.
Abubakar further recommended that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be mandated to verify the credentials submitted to it by candidates and their parties.
“A situation where a candidate submits contradictory credentials to INEC in different election cycles and the electoral umpire accepts them without questions point to gross negligence.
Abubakar underscored the need to improve the transparency of the electoral process and reduce the incentives to cheat.
He called for judicial reforms, transparency in the appointment of judges to reduce corruption in the judiciary. (NAN)
