A former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to “address lapses” that characterised the 2015 and 2019 general elections in 2023.
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general election, in a statement on Thursday by his Media Office on the occasion of Democracy Day celebration, said there was urgent need to “accelerate the needed electoral reform” ahead of 2023.
- Nigeria declares June 12 public holiday to mark Democracy Day
- Zoning will determine Atiku’s fate in 2023 – PDP
Atiku is eyeing the number position in the country again come 2023.
His son, Adamu Atiku who is the commissioner for Works and Energy in Adamawa State, while presenting the score card of his ministry recently, had said: “In 2023, my father will be aspiring to the number one office in the land because he has been an astute, strategic, master politician for almost four decades.”
Speaking about democracy in the country, the former vice president said there was need to expand its application as a mechanism of good governance in the country by ensuring that ballots cast during an election were sacrosanct in order for “leaders who represent the true aspirations of the people” to emerge.
“Between 1999 to the present time, our democracy has thrown up all shades of characters at the leadership levels.
“Many, if not all of them have tried their best to deliver good governance to the country.
“But the results of their efforts, judging by what we have at hand today, clearly shows that our best has not been good enough thus far.
“To get at this problem would require the voting citizens of the country to undertake a more critical evaluation of national leadership recruitment – a rare gift which democracy guarantees through the instrumentality of periodic elections.
“It is when we do that, that democracy can pass as a self-correcting mechanism and when it is denied, we are left with a pseudo-democracy which is counterproductive to the notion of participatory democracy.
“However, to ensure the integrity of the electoral process, that votes are not only counted, but that they do count, there is an urgent need to accelerate needed electoral reforms that will address the lapses in previous elections,”Atiku said.
On June 10, 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Public Holiday Amendment Act, declaring June 12 of every year a public holiday and Democracy Day.
In his speech to mark the Democracy Day in June 12, 2019, he said: “As we all know, correcting injustice is a pre-requisite for peace and unity.
“As part of the process of healing and reconciliation, I approved the recognition of June 12 as Democracy Day and invested the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola and Babagana Kingibe with National Honours, as I did with the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi.
“The purpose was to partially atone for the previous damage done in annulling the Presidential elections of that year.”
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
