Buhari wants to take Nigeria back to rigging days, Edwin Clark alleges

Comments have continued to pour in over the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to ditch the Electoral Bill 2018.

This time, a former Federal Commissioner for Information, Chief Edwin Clark, has alleged that the President refused to sign the bill because of his determination “to return us to 2015 and 2007 elections where voters had a field day in rigging the elections.”

Clark said in a statement in Abuja on Sunday that Buhari wanted a situation where underage voters would continue to vote.

He said,”In 2015, underage persons took part in the elections, particularly in many places in Kano, where the card readers were ignored.

“The use of card readers, the proper and careful use of card readers, which is a new innovation of electoral process since 2015, is the most important in the technological innovation in the electoral process in Nigeria and Nigerians are now used to it.

“If this is known to Mr President and to all politicians, then Mr President has the moral and legal duty to assent to the Electoral (amendment), particularly when the Supreme Court of Nigeria gave a strong warning about its legality and that is the very reason why Mr President is under obligation to assent to the amendment of the Electoral Bill since it is in the overall interest of all Nigerians, whom he swore to protect, by providing security and their welfare.

“Another technological improvement which the present INEC provided for is the use of electronic transfer of votes to prevent rigging which takes place during the transfer of votes to the collation centres.”