Governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) today rose from their  meeting held at Bauchi State with a call on the National Assembly   to entrench electronic transmission of results of elections in the nation’s electoral jurisprudence.

Recall that  majority of members of the National had earlier rejected the transmission of votes electronically  while many who would have been in  favour of it were abent when it was put to vote.

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The governors made their position known in a communique  issued at the end of their meeting which lasted for several hours.

The meeting requested  the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the only body empowered by the Constitution to conduct elections, to deploy appropriate technologies necessary to ensure that the votes of every Nigerian is counted and made to count. 

The PDP governors called on the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), especially, the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd (NIGCOMSAT), Telephone Companies (Telcos) and all relevant stakeholders to ensure that universal access and service of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are provided especially in rural, un-served and under-served areas of the country before the 2023 General elections.

They condemned the attempt to foist on all political parties, one method of conducting primaries, that is, by DIRECT METHOD ONLY, through the Electoral Act Amendment Bill. 

Why noting that the method is prone to massive rigging, as evidenced by a situation where President Buhari scored about 15 million votes in the 2018 APC Direct Primaries only to score 15 million votes from the entire country in the 2019 General Election, the governors advised that political parties, should be allowed to decide whether to use direct or indirect method of conducting primaries as part of internal democracy in political parties. 

“The Governors reiterated, once again, the need for the NNPC and other revenue generating agencies of Government to strictly abide by the Constitution by remitting all their Revenue less cost of Production into the Federation Account as provided for by S.162 of the Constitution. 

  “The meeting condemned, once again, the use of underhand tactics to arm twist some PDP Governors and other stakeholders to join the APC, a political party that has wrecked Nigeria’s economy, turned Nigeria into a killing field and has nothing to offer Nigerians but misery and bad governance. 

“The Governors condemned Mr President and APC for turning the Presidential Villa, that belongs to all Nigerians, into the new APC headquarters, where coerced PDP members are being paraded at intervals. In attendance at the meeting were the Chairman  of the PDP governors  Forum and Governor  of Sokoto State,

Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, CFR Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu -Abia State – Vice Chairman ,Gov. Udom Emmanuel  – Akwa Ibom State – Member ,Gov. Sen. Douye Diri  – Bayelsa State  – Member,  Gov. Samuel Ortom -Benue State -Member, Gov. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa  – Delta State  – Member ,Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi  – Enugu State  – Member , Gov. Nyesom Wike, CON  – Rivers State  – Member, Gov. Engr. Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde  – Oyo State  – Member, Gov. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri  -Adamawa State -Member ,Gov. Godwin Obaseki – Edo State  -Member, Gov. Bala Mohammed -Bauchi State  – Member, Gov. Arc Darius Ishaku  -Taraba State -Member, Deputy Gov. Mahdi Mohd     -Zamfara State -Deputy Governor