My people, make una listen well! Oby Ezekwesili don drop serious warning for our senators, say dem dey ‘play with fire’ as dem gree keep dangerous no be small level for di amended Electoral Act. According to am, di people don dey shout say dem need to fit upload election results in real-time for polling units.
Dis matter come from interview wey she do for ARISE News, as she comot fire after di Senate pass di bill wey amend di Electoral Act after plenty argument and palava about di electronic results transmission. E be like say di senators don forget wetin citizens dey expect. Oby talk say di decision to keep Section 60 subsection 5 of di Electoral Act don scatter di trust wey people get for di electoral process.
She no just gree keep calm, she yan say na dis same section wey don cause wahala before, e don turn like bad news among di people. Na wetin dem talk before di 2023 general election e she dey refer to, say INEC promise to allow online transmission but di wahala wey follow dey show say di promises no dey hold water.
Ezekwesili talk say citizens expect di Senate to use di Electoral Act amendment as chance to tighten every loose end and bring back di faith in democracy. She even yan say anybody wey dey vex over di senators decision get right to vex! She dey shout for di senators say make dem no let sleeping dogs lie, especially when dem supposed act based on citizens’ demand.
Di issue no be small, as she talk about di serious relationship between citizens and democracy. She remind dem say na di citizens dey give legitimacy to public leadership, and if dem no dey happy, e go mean trouble. See e, when dem say di experience of 2023 election scatter person confidence no be joke!
Oby suggest say citizens fit engage dem representatives, demand for public hearings and make sure say dem no comot hand for democracy. As she dey talk, she dey point say once citizens begin to disconnect from democracy, e go cause wahala for those wey dey power. She state say di voting percentage no do well as less than 35% of registered voters show face for di last election. Na wetin she use point finger to vex dem senators!
She conclude im matter as she dey urge di Senate to purify dia laws quick quick by gree do di right thing regarding di electronic transmission. For her mind, dem need stop turning blind eye to di citizens’ cries. She read di clause wey go make di electronic transmission mandatory and e no get room for discretion, say di presiding officer must transmit results in real-time after dem don sign and stamp di results forms.
In her final shout, Oby dey remind dem say fire no dey lie, and transparency na di way to go. Senators no gree to drag di citizens through anymore muddle, make dem rise to di occasion!
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