The Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola has said there is urgent need for the National Assembly to amend certain parts of the country’s electoral laws.
The governor said this on Thursday at an event in Ikeja to commemorate the 21-year annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential election believed to have been won by late Moshood Abiola.
He explained that one of what should be amended was the right of complainants to seek redress without the limitation of 180 days.
“I want to use this occasion to appeal to the National Assembly that access to complain about electoral malpractices is as important as the right to cast the vote and part of the process of securing the vote is that where it is interfered with, the right of the complainant to seek redress must not be limited to 180 days.
“By limiting it, we seek to encourage those who have the intention of subverting the process to subvert the process and frustrate you in court. This is one legislative amendment that our legislator must make in order to protect our democracy.
“I understand the reason for the time limit is to make sure that cases are concluded, but where there is clear danger of sacrificing time and therefore occasioning injustice, we should err on the side of justice.”
In his lecture at the event, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), said apart from the 1991 governorship and legislative elections and the June 12, 1993 presidential election, the country had not had a free and fair election.
He said, “In order to guarantee the attainment of democratic rights, we must have free, fair and credible elections to provide the platform for popular control over government, electoral choices between candidates and programmes, and equality between electors. Unfortunately, since the post-colonial times, Nigeria has suffered from acute negative electoral culture”.
Meanwhile, the government chose the anniversary of the June 12, 1993 election to honour heroes of the struggle for the actualisation of democracy in the country.
Fashola named the newly built Alausa Park after Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu and the Gbagada Housing Estate after Oluwide Omojola.
At the Kanu garden, Fashola said, “It is a token gesture by us, and I hope that it inspires others to seek to serve, be consistent and stay with an idea long after it has lost front page presence. Many of those who started this course are running with it, but those who joined because it was popular, have moved on.
“They paid the price on both sides; it shows that action has consequences. For many more years if we have all gone and they ask who is Baba Omojola, the story will be told.”
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