ACN lawmakers oppose colleagues on electoral act amendment

 Olorunnimbe Mamora

Lawmakers of the Action Congress of Nigeria, in line with their party’s leadership, on Thursday broke ranks with their colleagues over the ongoing amendment of a section of the 2010 Electoral act to enable lawmakers become part of the executive council of their parties.

The ACN lawmakers, who said the amendment was self-serving, announced their position on Thursday after a meeting with the party leadership in the National Assembly complex, Abuja.

They said the current amendment of the electoral act, which seeks to order all political parties to have a National Executive Committee comprising all the federal lawmakers, offends the Constitution and stifles the ability of the parties to make their own constitutions and decide who attends their executive committee meetings.

“Instead of the feeble defence offered by its authors, that it will strengthen internal democracy in the political parties; we say unequivocally that it can only succeed in turning the parties to political zombies,” Usman Bugaje, the party’s national secretary who represented the party chairman said. “How can a zombie party thrive on internal democracy? This is a paradox that is glaring to all except those behind the obnoxious misadventure.” Mr Bugaje argued that prescribing uniform constitution for the parties, with regards to the constitution of the party’s NEC, the conduct of primaries and the other party guiding principles in the 2010 electoral act, would limit the choice of which party Nigerians could opt for.

 

“This to us is like prescribing one medicine for all ailments. This is wrong. It is not for the National Assembly or INEC to tell all parties how to conduct their primaries. Democracy cannot grow through such regimentation. We reject it in its entirety,” Mr. Bugaje said.

Internal democracy

The PDP-led national assembly, however, had argued that the various amendments in the 2010 electoral act will ensure internal democracy in the political parties.

“The talk about internal democracy, as a reason for regulating party primaries, by the PDP-led National Assembly, is a smokescreen, self-serving move. While the PDP may have a reason for doing that - to satisfy a faction, we at the ACN do not have such problems and should not be railroaded into one a one-size-fits-all kind of arrangement. It is up to parties to determine how their candidates will emerge,” Mr. Bugaje said.

The party criticised almost every amendment in the electoral act, ranging from the sequencing of elections to the proposed amendment which will make most of the legislators member of their party’s NEC.

“We believe that the ongoing attempt by federal lawmakers to gate crash into NECs of various political parties is anti-democratic, self-serving and downright unconstitutional. The national assembly as a whole whether senators or House of Representatives fully associate ourselves with the position of the party on this issue,” Mamora Olorunmibe, leader of ACN caucus in the national assembly said.

Femi Gbajabiamila, leader of ACN in the House of Representatives corroborated Mr. Mamora’s stance. He also said some members are being victimized for opposing contents of the proposed 2010 Electoral act amendment bill.

Source:234next.com