The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caucus in the National Assembly has thrown its weight behind the resolutions of Southern governors on state police, electoral reform and five per cent oil equity share for host communities.
The governors had, on Monday in Lagos, rejected moves to manipulate and alter the Electoral Act to remove the electronic transmission of results and three per cent share of the oil revenue for host communities in the recently passed Petroleum Industry Bill.
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The PDP lawmakers, led by Senate and House minority leaders, Enyinnaya Abaribe and Ndudi Elumelu respectively, at a joint press briefing on Wednesday, commended the bold steps of the governors for taking a common position on national issues despite their party differences.
They described as “unpatriotic and mischievous” alleged attempt to tamper with a critical component of the electoral bill and subvert democratic process, institutionalise rigging, bastardise and frustrate genuine efforts towards credible elections in the country.
“Electronic transmission of results is the only way to eliminate malpractice and manipulations associated with manual collation of results, including alteration, switching and disappearance of election materials while on transit to various collation centres,” Abaribe said.