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Former Minister of Education under President Olusegun Obasanjo, Oby Ezekwesili, has faulted security operatives for teargassing activists who gathered in front of the National Assembly on Tuesday to demand the mandatory use of electronic transmission of results.
The former minister, who is a member of the Movement for Credible Elections, joined the group in front of the National Assembly on Tuesday. According to her, the crackdown on the group by security operatives frustrates citizens advocating for accountability in the electoral reform process.
In a statement posted on X, Ezekwesili questioned why citizens exercising their right to peaceful protest were met with force and also slammed lawmakers for attempting to weaken provisions on electronic transmission of results.
“Tear gassing our citizens for exercising their right to protest an odious Bill? Really? By the recalcitrant actions of the @SenateNGR and their colleagues @HouseNGR (who have been coaxed to backtrack and adopt the dangerous text of the Senators, which they all will use to legalise their culture of electoral frauds), the two Chambers have clearly declared war against our country and people,” the statement read in part.
Nigerian lawmakers have also come under fire recently over amendments to the Electoral Act. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), including Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE), have expressed concern about the Senate’s retention of a provision that allows manual collation of election results in regions with poor internet connectivity, rather than mandating electronic transmission in all regions.
“The Senate’s ‘cosmetic’ amendment to the Electoral Act is nothing short of a calculated insult to the intelligence of the Nigerian people. By creating a convenient ‘network failure’ escape clause, they have essentially legalised electoral fraud. This is not the reform Nigerians demanded, protested for, and deserve. We will not accept half-measures that preserve the same loopholes that made 2023 a credibility nightmare,” EiE said in a statement.
