Electoral Act Bill: PDP Accuses NCC Of Lying On Oath

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*Presidency To Opposition: Forget About 2023
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The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) caucus in
the House of Representatives has accused the leadership of the
Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) of deceiving Nigerians on
the alleged inability of the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) to use electronic devices to transmit election
results from all polling units in the country.

The caucus alleged that some fifth columnists and
anti-democratic forces were bent on truncating the conduct of free,
fair and credible elections in the country.

In a statement by its leader, Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers), the
PDP House caucus noted that while NCC officials, led by Prof. Umar
Garba Dambatta, should be tried for lying under oath, those who
made them to tell the lie should also be investigated and
tried.

Chinda said: “Electronic transmission has recently been deployed
by INEC in Edo, Ondo, Borno, Kaduna elections, among others. It is
obvious that there are fifth columnists and anti-democratic
elements who are afraid of free, fair and credible elections in
Nigeria.

“For a witness to be sworn under Section 5 of the Legislative
House (Powers and Privileges) Act 2017, then proceed to lie under
oath and give false evidence to the House, is an offence under
Section 7 of the same Act.

“We call on the prosecuting authorities to immediately arrest
the officials of the NCC, under Prof. Danbatta, and all those who
procured Ubale Maska and other officials to lie under oath to be
criminally investigated, and where found culpable, be brought to
justice by standing criminal trial.”

The lawmaker added: “It was a show of shame on the floor of the
House of Representatives on Friday, July 16, 2020, during the
consideration of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

“The comedy of errors started by the House stopping INEC from
appearing before the House to prevent the nation from learning the
truth and allowing only the NCC to appear to discuss issues on the
ability or otherwise of INEC to handle electronic transmission of
votes.

“Officials of the NCC, led by Executive Director (NCC uses
Executive Commissioner), Ubale Maska, who represented the Executive
Vice Chairman, Prof. Umaru Garba Danbatta, appeared and oath was
administered on them, consistent with the Section 5 of the
Legislative House (Powers and Privileges) Act 2017.

“While testifying before the House, on the adoption of
electronic transmission of results from the units, Ubale Maska
claimed that the 2018 Technical Report of the NCC showed that only
about ‘50 per cent of the polling units had 3G while 49 per cent
had 2G network and below’. “His answers and body language clearly
betrayed his intense desire to mislead the House and the
nation.

“He cleverly sought to rely on 2018 data in 2021, when they knew
or ought to know that internet penetration has advanced
substantially in Nigeria since 2018.

“Indeed, a perusal of NCC website, even today, shows that the
Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2020-2025 (P. 33) says that by
September 2019, the “spread of 3G/LTE” had reached 74.2 per cent in
Nigeria.

“Furthermore, MTN (see their website) recently announced that
they have achieved an extensive nationwide network coverage of 89.9
per cent. This is just MTN; not to talk of other networks.

“Perhaps, the worst form of perfidy, deception and outright lies
is for NCC to hide the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between
NCC and INEC in 2019…”

Also, the Presidency has told the PDP to forget about returning
to power in 2023.

The Senior Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on
Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said this after observing
the Eid-el-Kabir prayers yesterday in Daura, Katsina State.

“The President enjoys unshakable support, not only in his
hometown but also across the country. It is enough for the
opposition to admit that the President matters a lot for the ruling
party and Nigerians in general. Again, he constitutes a political
obstacle they cannot dismantle in 2023.

“We believe the PDP and other opposition parties are nursing
false hopes of taking over power in 2023.

“The masses will never abandon President Buhari’s leadership and
the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“I assure you that in 2023, the masses will be waiting for the
President to show the way in courtesy of what he has been building
for the country, in terms of infrastructure and wellbeing for young
people in the country.

“Nobody will take the risk by inviting another party to take
over in 2023.”

But PDP said the Presidency’s assertion that Nigerians would be
waiting for President Buhari “to show the way in 2023” had further
heightened public apprehension of self-succession plot by what the
party called “the cabal” in the Presidency.

The party’s spokesman Kola Ologbondiyan said Nigerians were
jolted when Garba publicly announced in Daura that President Buhari
“constitutes a political obstacle” which those who seek to succeed
him in 2023 “cannot dismantle”.