The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has declared that Nigeria’s electoral process has recorded “tremendous improvement” since the exit of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from power at the centre.
Naijaonpoint reports that Akpabio, who was twice elected governor under the PDP before joining the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), made the remark on Wednesday during the second reading of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill at plenary.
Speaking on the floor of the Senate, Akpabio recalled his long involvement in electoral politics and said even his colleagues across party lines could testify to the improvements.
He said, “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.”
He cited the controversial 2007 general elections as an example, recalling that the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua openly admitted the flaws that brought him to power.
“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 it was full of inconsistencies and rigging. Since then, we have plugged the holes,” Akpabio stated.
While insisting on improvements, the Senate President admitted that the system was not perfect.
He referenced disputes arising from the 2023 general elections, particularly arguments over whether winning the Federal Capital Territory alone could secure the presidency.
Akpabio added, “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.
“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.”
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