President Muhammadu Buhari has been credited with blazing the trail for a smooth transition of power in the country in 2023.
Senator Magnus Abe whose political structure is tied to that of Bola Ahmed Tinubu said the President paved the way for Nigerians to have free and elections when he signed the Electoral Act into law.
Tinubu, Abe’s preferred candidate, is canvassing for the presidency on the platform of the APC.
There is expected to be a clash between Tinubu and other titans that may include the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and others in the administration caught in the web weaved by the new Electoral Act which insists political office holders must resign before gunning for any elective office in the land.
Senator Abe told the Telegraph that the President was obviously satisfied with the version of the Act before appending his signature to it.
There is nothing wrong with operating the act the way it is for now, Abe said in the interview.
Abe admitted that no legislation is a perfect document, but he said it’s impact on the electoral process could be tested the way the framers made it.
This is how the short interview with Senator Abe went:
Telegraph: The Senate has just taken its position on the Electoral Act. They have thrown out the request of the President. What’s your reaction to this?
Senator Abe: Well, these are normal democratic processes and the truth of the matter is that every legislation involves some level of compromise between the different interest groups that make our democracy work.
So I believe that the Electoral Act is in many ways, not a perfect product, but a product of those amalgamated interests.
In the first instance, there were things that the president wanted which the legislators did not want. They gave in to the President and in this instance, there are now some amendments that the President wants which may not be totally acceptable to them.
But I think that the proper thing for us to do as Nigerians is to first of all implement the Act, properly and effectively the way it is.
I believe that the President, at a later date, can still request for an amendment.
Telegraph: Frankly, going forward and looking at the amount of time left particularly for INEC to hold elections in this country, do you believe that the action taken by the Senate puts Nigeria on the right path?
Magnus Abe: I think that the President has already put the country on the right path by signing the Electoral Act. Any other thing will be the result of negotiations as we move forward.
But the truth of the matter is that the Electoral Act came into effect, the day it was signed. And the President, I am sure, was comfortable with the version that was before him, before appending his signature.
So any other little, little hiccups that may be on the way, I am sure is something both the executive and the legislature can live with.
I think that the only point of divergence now is this question of the resignation of serving political office holders. And on that score, I believe that both the President, the Nigerian people and the Senate would benefit from testing the impact of this.
This people want to contest election, it would be good for them to make space. The President needs those who can concentrate on the work at this point so that the administration is not distracted by people using their offices to run for elections and all that.
I think, let’s try it out, the version that exists, and see how it works for everybody.