The Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has declared the new Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (ESIEC) law faulty and to that extent, it announced its boycott of the coming local government election in the state.
The Edo APC emphasised that the ESIEC law does not conform to the Electoral Act of 2022, and assured that it would contest the new law in court and also pull out of the election which the law is meant for.
Speaking through Peter Uwadiae, its Publicity Secretary on Tuesday, the party said it was worrisome that a democratically elected government would engage in activities that run contrary to the law, adding that there was no provision in this year’s budget to run an election that would require the humongous amount of money primed for the election.
According to him, “the most important part of the law, a 90 days notice to the parties, has now been shortened to 20 days which should not have been done without the input of the people. In conducting the election, there must be a synergy between the Electoral Act and ESIEC law. In other words, the provision of the ESIEC law should not run contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act. And if the law runs contrary to the Act, the Electoral Act should take precedence.
“We are very worried that a Governor that was elected democratically will no longer preserve the tenet of democracy. That portends danger for us as Edo people. The APC is boycotting the election because of this aberration.
“The new Electoral Act 2022 shows that the local government election is no longer a jamboree. It has been taken beyond the governors sitting in their offices or bedroom and reel out figures for each local government,” he added.
He stated that trying to shorten the period for the election would not guarantee a free, fair and credible election.
“The right to take part in an election is recognised by law so the people must be considered and the process of the election must the strictly adhered to. It is a fundamental right of the Edo State Government to conduct the election, but the question is, Why the hurry after we have been made to wait for this long?
“The vacuum being experienced now should have been taken care of long ago by conducting an election before the end of the tenure of the past chairmen. The APC has been on the neck of the PDP led Government as to why the elections were not conducted. Unfortunately, the House of Assembly concocted a document which they call the ESIEC law, which saw them amending the most important part of the law, a 90 days notice to the party has now been shortened to 20 days which should have been done without the input of the people.
“As we speak, the money that would be used for the election is not captured in the budget. So where is the government going to get the money to finance the election? There is no supplementary budget coming from the Government to the House of Assembly, (if any). That is why the APC has always maintained that this state government is not a serious one.
“Also, the law must be amended with the nod of 2/3 of the members. Today Edo State does not have that 2/3 with 14 members being shot out. It then means that there is no House of Assembly in Edo because it has only 10 members.
“The timetable for the election also suggests that the screening is coming after the election would have been done. The government is ridiculing the state with this action.
“We are set to save the state from the grip of Governor Godwin Obaseki and we are starting with the local government election. We are also going to approach the court to ensure that this aberration is not allowed to take place,” he reassured.
