The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has congratulated the governor-elect in Anambra, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, on his victory during the Nov. 6 and Nov. 9 governorship elections in the State.
The NLC President, Mr Ayuba Wabba, in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, described Prof. Soludo’s victory at the poll as a testament to the confidence he enjoyed from majority of the people of the state.
“This is the hallmark and beauty of democracy.
“There is no doubt that the consummation of the Nov. 6 governorship election in Anambra was fraught with anxious moments as many Nigerians followed the process with bated breath.
“The thuds of armoured tanks and the echoes of gunshots that trailed the campaign train turned the once peaceful state into a theatre of battles.
“The dicey security situation was not helped with the agitations of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) especially the sit-at-home order which hung a huge blanket of uncertainty over the Nov. 6 election,” he said.
He noted that a few days to the election, there were calls from some quarters for the Anambra governorship polls to be postponed.
He said that it was important to note and commend the resoluteness of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which insisted that the election must go on.
The NLC president also noted that the INEC went on to pledge its commitment to a transparent electioneering process in Anambra.
He said the commitment by INEC was also backed by the resolve of President Muhammadu Buhari to deploy adequate security to ensure that nothing scuttled the electoral process in Anambra.
“We commend the resolve of Anambra people to put the enemies of democracy to shame.
“Many voters in the state dared the pre-Election Day violence and showed up on Election Day to cast their ballot.
“With less than 10 per cent turnout of registered voters in Anambra, there are huge concerns for popular democracy.
”Yet, given the dare-devil desperation invested in the run-up to the election, it is a relief to many that the election eventually took place and a winner emerged,” he said.
Wabba said the announcement of the final results from the Anambra gubernatorial elections coincided with the passing of the harmonised version of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2021 by the Senate and the House of Representatives.
According to him, we commend the leadership of the National Assembly for prioritising some of the demands made by the Nigerian people especially the NLC.
He said some of the progressive amendments passed by the National Assembly included the approval for increased deployment of technology in our elections especially the adoption of electronic transmission of election results.
Others, according to him are: increased powers to INEC to decide procedures to use for elections and the provision for direct primaries for the conduct of political parties’ primary elections in Nigeria.
“We believe that hope for credible elections in Nigeria is largely predicated on an INEC that is well empowered as an independent and unbiased umpire.
“We believe that the recent improvements in the Electoral Act would go a long way in fixing some of the deficits experienced during the just concluded Anambra governorship election especially the use of violence and voter apathy,” he said.
He said the NLC was consistent with the struggle for clean and credible elections in Nigeria, especially given investments by Labour that yielded the foundational reforms of 2007-2011 through the Uwais Electoral Reform Committee.
“We still call for deeper reforms to democratise the appointment of the leadership of INEC, establish an Electoral Offences Commission and the institutionalise Proportional Representation in Nigeria’s Constitution and electoral law.
“To us, these reforms represent a more sustainable recipe for deepened political process and value-laden democratic outcomes in Nigeria,” he said
