Presidential candidate in 2019, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu has said President Muhammadu Buhari risked becoming an “enemy of democracy” if he failed to sign the amended Electoral Act with a provision for electronic voting and the electronic transmission of results.
Moghalu, who is at present the Oxford Martin Visiting Fellow at Oxford University, stated this in a statement he personally signed on Thursday.
He was reacting to the controversy surrounding the president’s reported reluctance to sign the amended Electoral Act as forwarded by the National Assembly.
Moghalu recalled how President Buhari refused to sign the amended Electoral Act in 2018, saying he did so to ensure he won a second term in office.
The 2023 presidential hopeful said the president must not repeat same since he will not be a candidate in the next general election.
He urged the president to leave with a legacy of having facilitated a transparent democracy.
“H.E. President Muhammadu Buhari, let me say to you Sir, as a citizen of Nigeria and with all due respect, that IF you fail to sign the amended electoral law with a provision for electronic voting and the electronic transmission of results, you will be an ENEMY OF DEMOCRACY.
“You declined assent to an amended electoral law in 2018, doubtless because you were a candidate and wanted “scope” to ensure your victory in 2019. In 2023, you will not be a candidate. I urge you to leave, at least, a legacy of facilitating a transparent democracy. That requires, at a minimum, transparent collation and transmission of results and, ideally, direct primaries in political parties,” Moghalu said.