Abuja, May 18, 2023 – The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) on Thursday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the independent candidate bill before leaving office on May 29.
With the presidential assent, independent candidates can contest in the presidential, governorship, national and state assemblies as well as local government elections.
The bill was sent by the National Assembly to the president this week for his assent.
HURIWA made the call in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko,
The group urged the President to speed up the processes and sign the bill into law before he would leave office on May 29.
It said the bill, if it becomes a law, would be a big game-changer in Nigeria’s electoral processes as citizens would be able to vote the candidates they believe in without necessarily being constrained to belonging to one party or the other.
HURIWA also said it believed that the bill, if assented to law, would curb the over-bloated importance given to dominant political parties.
“This bill is all that is needed to change Nigeria’s electoral system for good and President Muhammadu Buhari will do well to give Nigerians a deserving parting gift by immediately signing it into law as it will curb electoral malfeasance of all kinds, of course championed by greedy politicians running the affairs of political parties and financially barring eligible and competent persons without millions of naira to contest for elective offices.
“It is only reasonable that the President immediately assents to the bill before he leaves on May 29, 2023.
“At least Nigerians can have something positive that he contributed to the electoral system aside the terribly flawed Electoral Act.”
The National Assembly resolved to send the bill as the Constitution Alteration bill number 58 after the Senate approved recommendations of a report on it.
The report was presented by Ovie Omo-Agege, the Deputy President of the Senate and Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on Constitution Amendment. (GBN)
