PDP Govs to Buhari: Sign Electoral Bill Now Without Further Delay

•Challenge him to address the adulterated fuel crisis now

Chuks Okocha

Governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) left off from their 14th meeting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State with a charge to President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the Electoral Act amendment bill without any further delay.

A communique read by the Deputy Chairman of the forum, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, the governors also challenged the president to immediately address the adulterated fuel crisis in the country.

“Waiting to run out the 30 days is yet another sign of unwillingness by Mr. President to give Nigeria a reformed electoral framework. If there are still misgivings on any aspect of the bill, amendments may be introduced at a later stage,” the PDP governors said.

They also congratulated party for winning 43 out of the 62 councillorship positions in the just concluded Abuja Area Council election results.

They said in spite of improvements in the conduct of elections, the Gwagwalada and Abuja Area Council results showed that manipulations were still possible, while urging INEC to tighten all observed loopholes and further improve on the functioning of the BIVAS Machine for future elections.

Expressing displeasure over the contaminated fuel recently supplied to Nigerians, they urged government to bring the perpetrators to account.

According to the communique, “The governors frowned at the duplicity, inconsistency, insincerity of the APC-led federal government on the fuel subsidy regime, which has been badly and corruptly administered. The figures of consumption ascribed to Nigerians appear fictitious and bloated. They called for proper investigation to be conducted on this matter.

“The forum welcomed the court decision on Police Trust Fund deductions from the Federation Account, a suit at the instance of Rivers State and urged the Federal Government to stop similar unconstitutional deductions from the Federation Account.”

In the same vein, the PDP governors urged that the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission should expedite action on the new allocation formula in such a way as to increase allocation to states and local government.

“The Forum once again deplored the way and manner the CBN is being run as an alternate government, indeed, a government within a government. It is time to streamline its functions and processes to be constitutionally compliant,” the communique of the meeting said.

The forum also decried the opaque nature of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) operations and called for accountability and reconciliation of NNPC remittances into the federation account.

Thus, as the National Assembly winds down the current phase of the Constitution Review exercise, the forum urged that they revisit the issue of devolution of more powers to the states and local governments.

They said, “This opportunity to rejig the framework for policing and securing Nigeria should not be missed. To this end, the Forum would set up a panel of consultants to have a thorough look at the security architecture of Nigeria and make recommendations.”

The governors further urged the National Assembly to transfer some items from the Exclusive Legislative list to the Concurrent list.

Also congratulating their Bayelsa State counterpart, Douye Diri, on his second anniversary in office, the governors testified that he has made a positive difference for the people of the state and thanked him for being a gracious and wonderful host.

Those who attended by the meeting included Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, which chaired the meeting; Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State, Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, Douye Diri, host and governor of Bayelsa State, Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, Oluseyi Makinde of Oyo State and Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.