The proposed modification to the Electoral Act has drawn criticism from former Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate Adewole Adebayo, who accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of taking steps that could undermine democracy.
Adebayo stated on Monday’s Politics Today on Channels Television that the purpose of the proposed amendment’s provision mandating the immediate transmission of election results is to avoid excessive intervention with the democratic process.
His argument was that “the devil” may figuratively influence decision-making following elections if results were not transmitted quickly enough.
The post of Senate President, according to Adebayo, necessitates graveness and adherence to democratic values. He cited the honourable tenures of Nnamdi Azikiwe, Joseph Wayas, and Chuba Okadigbo as evidence that this is the case.
Criticising what he called “legislative rascality,” he emphasised that this was not a political issue but rather crucial to Nigeria’s democracy’s continued existence.
According to the former SDP leader, the Senate is an equal branch of government with important responsibilities, such as deciding whether the president can go to war, and the National Assembly has constitutional authority to do just that.
He went on to say that the President of the Senate, like the Chief Justice of Nigeria, must put the interests of the country ahead of their own.
According to Adebayo, the provision in the proposed new Electoral Act states that the election results should be sent with a heart filled with faith before any negative influences are considered. It is expressing that.
Now that the devil has begun communicating with Akpabio, we want to prevent him from starting from the very beginning.
He is not the first person to hold the role of Senate President, you know. There was Nnamdi Azikiwe. Chuba Okadigbo and Joseph Wayas were both present until Wayas’s own time. Why is he so intent on using legislative sleaziness to bring an end to democracy? Do not mistake this for a political matter; it is of paramount importance.
No one in that office can simultaneously serve as a go-fer for special interests outside of the country. The Senate has the authority to approve the president’s decision to go to war, among other things, and it is equal to the other branches of government. You must take this seriously.
Sitting in that chair will force you to act seriously even if you’re not normally that way. This role is analogous to that of the Nigerian Chief Justice.