2023: CSOs Ask Lawan To Resign Or Be Impeached Over Electoral Act Passage

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Youth groups and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have asked
Senate President Ahmed Lawan has been asked to resign or be
impeached over the failure of the National Assembly to pass the
Electoral Act amendment ahead of the 2023 General Elections.

The organations include Ariyo-Dare Atoye, Center For Liberty
(CFL); Deji Adeyanju, Concerned Nigeria (CN); Princess Hamman-Obels
and Chinenye Agwuna The Electoral Hub (TEH); and Jude Feranmi,
Raising New Voices Initiative (RNVI) made the call on Thursday in
Abuja at a news conference.

According to them, in the last 15 months, they have consistently
engaged the lawmakers and appealed to the 9th National Assembly to
make the passage of a new Electoral Act a major priority.

“As at today, the National Assembly has failed to meet two dates
and deadlines set for the passage of the Electoral Bill being
December 2020 and 31 March 2021.

“The President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan and the
leadership of the joint committee of the National Assembly on
Electoral Matters, have betrayed the solemn pledge made to
Nigerians on 9 December 2020, at the public hearing conducted on
the electoral bill,” a statement jointly signed and read by the
organisations said.

They also urged Nigerians to get ready to peacefully Occupy the
National Assembly and prevail on the lawmakers to immediately pass
a reformed electoral act that will bring integrity to the
elections, embrace technology and open the process to transparency
and accountability.

“We are worried that the 9th National Assembly appears
unperturbed about passing a bill that could give them lasting
legacies and etch their names and session in gold.

“It is also troubling that the ruling All Progressive Congress
and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party are less concerned
about electoral reforms.

“Equally disheartening is the nonchalant attitude of the smaller
parties and political stakeholders to the passage of a new
electoral act. They always prefer to lament without any coordinated
action,” Atoye said.

He added that the time has come for young members of the
political parties in Nigeria, women, activists, journalists and
other concerned Nigerians to join them in Occupying the National
Assembly (#OccupyNASS) to demand for the passage of a reformed
electoral act.

He said, “Except the bill is tabled and passed, we shall be left
with no option than to Occupy NASS after the Ramadan.

“We deserve free, fair and credible elections; we deserve good
leaders that credible polls will throw up; we deserve good
governance that good leaders will bring; Nigeria deserves the
best.”

He also said that they have written letters to some Nigeria’s
foreign partners on democratic governance to alert them that the
9th National Assembly appears unready to pass a new Electoral
Act.

He said, “We have equally informed them to review their
partnership with the National Assembly and predicate future support
on the passage of the Electoral Act.”

They said that the Bill must be passed into law now to give the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) sufficient time to
implant, internalize and implement the Bill.

This, they said was to draw lessons from the outcome of the 2017
Kenya general elections, marred by violence and logistical problems
and which the USAID in its report said the late adoption of an
electoral legal framework impacted negatively on the outcome of the
election.