President Goodluck Jonathan and House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal on Monday disagreed on the credibility of recent governorship elections in Nigeria.
Tambuwal said recent polls were more like those conducted by the military regimes and were not free, fair and credible, adding that the elections have been characterized by intimidation, which is undemocratic and creates apprehension among voters.
But President Jonathan insisted that the recent elections in Ondo, Anambra, Ekiti and Osun are not only credible, but demonstrated that electoral reforms are working.
They spoke at the opening ceremony of the 54th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Owerri, Imo State capital, with the theme: “Nigeria, A Hundred Years After.”
Jonathan, represented by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), said the government has focused on the review and reform of the country’s electoral processes to make them better and more responsive to the people’s yearnings.
“The free, fair and credible elections conducted in Ondo, Anambra, Ekiti and Osun States are demonstration of the efficacy of the reforms this administration has instituted in our electoral processes.
“While there is room for improvement, the fact that politicians can now congratulate each other at the end of keenly contested elections is glowing testimony to the progress made and the evolving political culture that credible elections have engendered in the polity,” Adoke said.
But Tambuwal said politics, which is supposed to be a pleasant routine for the common good, has become a source of “sickening stress” for the citizenry.
According to him, instead of looking forward to 2015 elections with joy and pleasant expectations, the average citizen is overtaken by apprehension.
“When the complexion of election conducted by a civilian regime assumes the semblance of that conducted by a military junta, it is obvious that the nation needs help.
“The nation craves for credible elections that are free, fair, transparent and peaceful. Elections which are merely peaceful through the instrumentality of force and intimidation are neither democratic nor credible,” Tambuwal said.
On the fight against graft, Adoke said the anti-graft agencies have reviewed their operational modalities to make them more effective.
He disclosed that a national anti-corruption strategy has been articulated in line with Nigeria’s obligations under United Nations Convention against Corruption and would be presented to the Federal Executive Council for approval.
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