Sign electoral bill to guarantee credible polls, group urges Buhari

The Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA) has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law in order to guarantee credible polls in the country.

Buhari had on Tuesday, charged the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Adamu to ensure that all future elections were credible and violence-free.

But the CTA in a statement Friday, by its Executive Director, Faith Nwadishi, asked the President to review the Justice Uwais Electoral Reform Committee’s Report and implement it without further delay.

The group added that INEC must be allowed to be truly independent, advising that the operational budget of the Commission must be treated as priority by both the Executive and the National Assembly to guarantee credible polls.

“We call on President Buhari to match his charge with action and show truly, that he will walk his talk by implementing his directive during the upcoming off season elections and especially, the governorship election in Edo state this year.

“President Mohammadu Buhari should as a matter of urgency re-introduce the Electoral Act Amendment Bill as an Executive Bill to the National Assembly. He should sign the bill into law as soon as it it passed by the National Assembly. This is key to electoral reforms and achieving credible elections in Nigeria,” the group said.