Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on the National Assembly to urgently revisit the current electoral laws and processes to enhance their efficiency, transparency, and credibility, aligning them with global best practices.

In a statement on Monday, Atiku cited the recent elections in Ghana as a model for necessary amendments that would eliminate ambiguities in the electoral process.

Atiku emphasised that the National Assembly should revise the laws to empower the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to deliver elections that are transparent, quick, and credible.

He noted that the swift declaration of results in Ghana, where contestants received results by Sunday morning after a Saturday election, underscores the importance of incorporating efficient technology into the electoral process.

The statement read in part: “The recently concluded presidential election in Ghana, our next-door neighbour, presents a wake-up call to INEC and the National Assembly on the need to review our electoral process and make it more efficient, transparent, credible and in line with best practices across the world. There is a need for INEC to embrace technology and make it help the process.”

The PDP chieftain argued that any practices that allow manual conduct of elections or hinder real-time result upload on the IREV system must be eradicated, proposing that elections failing to meet these technological standards should be declared null and void.

“Any excuse that still allows some officials to conduct elections manually or gives the impression that results cannot be uploaded in real-time on the IREV should be eliminated. Any election that does not meet the technology threshold should be nullified,” he said.

Atiku stressed the need to discourage any attempts to sabotage technology to manipulate results.

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and a former spokesman, Atiku Abubakar presidential campaign, Segun Sowunmi, has said that the former vice president is yet to respond to his question on whether he (Atiku) is contesting for the presidency again.

Although the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has not declared his intention to join the 2027 presidential race, his body language looks like one who’s warming up to try for the third consecutive time.

However, Sowunmi told Channels Television that the 2023 presidential candidate is still in a reflective mood.

Atiku Abubakar is one man I love with my bones. The heart will declay quickly but the bone is the last thing that will declay.

“I have asked him twice, ‘are you running? Are you done? If you are running, what do we do with this structure? If you’re not done we have to do something different’.

“We can’t be doing the same thing and expect a different result on two different occasions with gaps.

“I’m a good man to have even asked him the third time. He was quiet, he was still in a reflective mood. He’s not said ‘no’, he’s not said ‘yes’ and I respect that.

“Any sensible person should know that the burden of election is heavy. No human being that has had the kind of experience, challenges and even the kind of betrayal Atiku has endured should not reflect deeply before saying ‘I’m going to run’.

“I don’t do guess work. I’ve asked him twice, he didn’t answer. When he answers, whatever answer he gives, we’ll take it to the next level.”

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a stern warning to the newly sworn-in Governor of Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, urging him to refrain from interfering in labour matters within the state.

This follows an alleged unauthorised invasion of the Edo State Council of the NLC’s office in Benin City by officers of the Edo State Police Command.

The incident reportedly occurred in the absence of the council’s chairperson, who is currently attending the NLC’s annual Harmattan School in Abuja.

The worker’s body said no official explanation has been provided by the police or other entities regarding the incident but that it suspects that the police may have acted on orders from the state governor.

Reacting to the development, in a statement on Thursday, NLC President Joe Ajaero described the incident as “criminal behavior” and demanded an unconditional apology from those responsible.

Ajaero cautioned that any form of intimidation or harassment of trade union leaders violates labour and human rights and poses a threat to Nigeria’s democratic values.

He further advised Governor Okpebholo to focus on critical state matters instead of attempting to suppress the activities of organized labour.

The labour leader also called on the police to uphold the integrity of their profession and desist from actions that compromise their duty to serve the public without bias.

The statement read: “We are disturbed by a recorded incident of unauthorised/illegal breaking in and entry of the offices of the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress by some police personnel of Edo State Police Command.

“The incident happened in Benin City in the absence of the Chairperson of the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress who is attending the annual Harmattan School in Abuja.

“Neither the police nor any other entity has offered an explanation for this criminal behaviour but there are speculations that the police might have acted at the instance of the new Governor of Edo State, Monday Okpebholo

“However, whether the police acted alone or at the behest of the Governor, we demand an apology and retracing of steps unconditionally.

“Trade unions are protected by law, under no circumstances are their affairs to be interfered with by the state or any entity or be forcefully brought under the governance or control of any other.

“Acts of intimidation of trade unions or their leaders are equally off-limits as these constitute not only a violation of trade union/human rights but a threat to our hard-won democracy.

“In light of the foregoing, the Governor is advised to steer off labour matters in the state. As a brand-new Governor, he should have his priorities. We would hate to think that authorising the harassment of trade union leaders is one of them.

“As for the police, they should retrieve their honour if they can, by not lending themselves to the performance of dirty jobs in contravention of their oath of office.

“Leave Edo State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress alone! It is too soon to start a fight with us.”

Daily Sun