Akpabio Mocks PDP, Says Since Opposition Left, Elections Have Been Improved
The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has stated that Nigeria’s electoral process has improved remarkably since the Peoples Democratic Party left power.
As aired on NASSTV on Wednesday, Akpabio made this remark during plenary at the second reading of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
The Senate President, while reflecting on Nigeria’s electoral evolution, said even long-time politicians would agree that the system has witnessed notable progress compared to the past.
“I’m sure that even myself and Senator Abaribe, who have been around for almost two and a half decades in these electoral matters, I know you don’t care about political party, you win elections in any party.
“You have a lot of experience, but you will agree with me that since PDP left, the elections have improved tremendously in this country,” Akpabio said.
He recalled that former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had publicly admitted that the 2007 general elections, which brought him to power, were flawed.
“I recall, I’ve been close to most of the presidents since 1999, and I recall in 2007, when I won as a governor, our then president, may his soul rest in peace, President Yar’Adua, had to come out publicly to say that the election that brought him as president was totally flawed,” he said.
“He said it was full of inconsistencies and rigging. Since then, we have plugged the holes.”
Commenting on the 2023 general elections, Akpabio noted that although Nigerians still exploit loopholes, the system has improved, citing the legal debates that trailed the interpretation of the two-thirds requirement for presidential victory.
“Imagine this last election, we had to go up to the Supreme Court arguing as to whether winning the Federal Capital Territory was the only reason why you should become president,” he said.
“People were saying, No, win FCT and then you have won the presidency. So, you can lose in 36 states of the federation, but once you win FCT, you have become president. They wasted time, had panels upon panels on television, and at the end of the day, we got to the Supreme Court and back.
“Common sense could have told us that that was not the intent of the Electoral Act.”
The Senate President further criticised electoral malpractice, particularly cases where those who did not win elections allegedly secured victories through judicial processes.
He further alleged that certain individuals from Anambra State, whose names he declined to reveal, had travelled abroad during the 2023 elections to prepare documents, which they later presented in court after the polls.
“Nigerians will still do mischief. For those of us from Anambra, we know that there are people who travel abroad during election, crafting papers, and immediately after the election, they go to court. Suddenly, you’ll find they’re inside the Senate, and the real winner is crying outside.”
He stressed the need for further amendments to the Electoral Act to close loopholes and enhance the integrity of Nigeria’s elections.
“We must find a way to plug the loopholes of such occurrences so that we can have a better electoral system,” Akpabio said, before calling for the bill to proceed to second reading.
