In the wake of President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law, Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has cast doubt over the possibility of having free, fair and credible elections in 2019.
The former Vice President made the remark yesterday at the Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah Centre, Abuja, where he signed the peace accord to commit himself to peaceful elections in 2019. Atiku failed to turn up at the International Conference Centre on Tuesday where President Muhammadu Buhari and scores of other Presidential candidates honoured the invitation by the National Peace Committee chaired by former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd) to commit to a peace agreement. Speaking a few minutes after signing the agreement, Atiku flanked by his running mate, Mr. Peter Obi and the PDP Presidential Campaign Deputy Director General, Tanimu Turaki, said as a democrat from day one, he would continue to champion the cause of justice for the good of Nigeria and Nigerians. He said: “I am delighted that Mr President has agreed to sign this peace accord. I will want to appeal to him to also sign the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill.
Mr. President needs to understand that as long as he refuses to sign the bill, we will have doubts that this government is truly committed to free, fair and credible elections. “I am a democrat ab initio. I was never converted. I have always been a democrat. And I fought the military to return this country to democracy. However, the best way to guarantee peace in any election is to ensure manifest justice to all concerned.” Shortly after signing the peace accord, Atiku had an interactive session with Nigerian women, promising to get them involved in the governance of the nation if elected into office. While enjoining the mammoth crowd of women gathered at the Chida Hotel, Abuja, Atiku asked them not to forget that while he served as Vice President of the country (1999-2007), he did his best by attracting some of the brightest women to government. “PDP has never from day one not try to advance or protect the interest of women. That is why our first interactive session is with women. This is the first interaction session we are having with any group and this is to underline the importance of women as far as our party is concerned. “Since you are about 50% of our population, our representatives at all levels must reflect this population. Some will argue that gender equality is a deal that cannot be achieved overnight, I disagree. “We can achieve it”.
