A former Governor of Abia State and Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to consider holding the general elections in 2023.

According to Kalu, this will reduce cost and rigging.

The former governor said the presidential,  National Assembly, governorship and state House of Assembly elections could be conducted concurrently.

The lawmaker made the proposal in a statement issued on Thursday and titled ‘2023: Senate Chief Whip, Kalu Urges INEC to Hold All Elections Same Day.’

The controversy that followed the proposal to reorder the sequence of polls during general elections had frustrated passage of amendments to the Electoral Act 2010 by the 8th National Assembly.

Kalu, however, explained that holding the elections same day would not only cut cost, but also give the electorate the opportunity to vote their genuine choice and protect their votes.

He cited the examples of the United States,  Ghana and Sierra Leone where same-day elections are held, adding that it will not be out of place for Nigeria to adopt same.

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The statement partly read, “INEC should conduct the 2023 elections same day as staggered elections are unnecessarily expensive.  The conduct of the elections on different days gives room for rigging, thuggery and several vices. It also puts the lives of the voters and INEC officials in intense danger.

“When elections are conducted on the same day, popular candidates will emerge because everyone will be busy in their polling units and zones, unlike (having them on) different days.

“To deepen our democracy,  we need to get the elections right. When leaders with genuine interests of the people are voted to power, they provide  exceptional leadership and infrastructure to their people.”