.

By Luminous Jannamike, ABUJA

A coalition of 42 civil society organizations, on Monday, alleged that the National Assembly was planning to pass a manipulated copy of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill in a plenary scheduled for July 8th.

The CSOs on the aegis of Alliance of Civil Society Organisations for Expansion of Electoral and Democratic Space made the allegation in an emergency press briefing in Abuja.

Organisations represented at the briefing were Enough Is Enough, Yiaga Africa, Centre for Liberty, The Electoral Hub, and 38 others.

Also Read: Electoral law without electronic transmission of results invitation to anarchy, say Na’Abba, Utomi, others

Speaking on behalf of the group, a former Chairman of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, Mr Sam Amadi, claimed there were discrepancies between the approved version of the Bill and the alleged final copy where some key provisions have been allegedly manipulated.

He cautioned the National Assembly that such a plot to manipulate the electoral process would be a direct invitation to a crisis.

He said, “The worst thing that anyone can do for the government and people of this country is to deliberately implant an electoral process that is not credible.

“In the alleged final copy, some key priority amendments were rejected by the leadership of the National Assembly as follows; the electronic transmission of results has been prohibited, the limits on campaign expenses have been increased, and the proposal empowering INEC to review the declaration of scores and return of candidates made by a Returning Officer under duress or contrary to the provisions of the law has been rejected.

“If it is passed, we would perceive it as an elite conspiracy to ensure Nigeria fails as a country.”

Speaking also, the spokesman of the National Consultative Front, Dr. Tanko Yunusa, said the alleged final copy of the Electoral Amendment Bill, which they have reviewed, does not represent the interests of the Nigerian people.

“We, therefore, consider it a forged document that must not be substituted for our legitimate demands. The National Assembly should give us an electoral law that will stand the test of time in promoting credible elections,” he said.

While calling on the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, and the Speaker of House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, to declare that they were not part of the alleged attempt to subvert the voices of Nigerians, the 42 CSOs urged the people to stand up to resist any attempt to manipulate the approved version of Electoral Act Amendment Bill for selfish reasons.

Vanguard News Nigeria