By Dapo Akinrefon
A Trustee of Ọmọ Eko Pataki and former Communications Minister, Major General Tajudeen Olanrewaju (retd), on Friday, lampooned lawmakers representing Lagos State in the National Assembly for backing the manual transmission of votes during elections describing them as selfish.
Olanrewaju, in his reaction to the passage of the Independent National Electoral Bill, described the lawmakers who voted in favour of manual transmission as self-centered and untidy.
The statement reads: “It is rather disappointing and sad that the Lagos lawmakers in Abuja are increasingly self-centered, untidy and indifferent to the sole purpose of representing the interests of our people at the two chambers of the National Assembly.
“For whatever reason best known to them, they seem motivated by myopic partisan concerns rather than the pursuit of the welfare of the ordinary Lagosians who voted them into office.
“Of particular concern to us at Ọmọ Eko Pataki is the disgraceful roles played by our Senators and Representatives during the passage of the Independent National Electoral Bill that would have mandated electronic voting system and the Petroleum Industry Bill whose original intent to benefit the indigenous oil producing communities is now basically negated and frittered.
“The lawmaking process should never be about personal gains or selfish absorption. It should always be about the greater good of the electorate. It should always be about the growth and the development of our society.
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“Unfortunately, not so here. Frankly , it still beats reasoning and common sense why anyone will vote against electronic voting in the 21st century where the very dictates of cybernetic revolution have virtually eliminated all the cumbersome processes of manual procedures in all aspects of our lives from banking to statistical data gathering, from power generating grids to sensors in military hardware.
“As a former Minister of Communications, I should know. The increasing growth of digital technology has eased the challenges of modernity, making our society more progressive.
Manual voting is primitive and outdated. It gives room to several manipulations and ultimately disenfranchises our people. This is unacceptable. We should be seen to be moving forward and not regressing.
“The same goes for the Petroleum Industry Bill. Lagos of course is now a petroleum producing state. The 5 percent proposed recommendation for the indigenous producing communities has been slashed to a pittance of 3 percent and yet Lagos legislators support this abnormality. Does this really make any sense at all?
“A lot is definitely wrong with the thought processes of our legislators. They are unrepresentative of the well being of Lagosians. They are motivated by personal bias and partisan prejudice.
“We at Ọmọ Eko Pataki strongly believe that all the legislators who voted against the interests of our people are not democrats.
“Since they are at variance with the classical definition of democracy which is “the government of the people by the people and for the people”, they have no business staying a minute longer in their position because they have failed all Lagosians.”
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