Ayodele Olalere
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has admitted the 2023 Presidential and House of Assembly elections were hotly contested.
The Speaker, who belongs to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) spoke, on Tuesday, during plenary when the House resumed after break.
“Our country has just been through a hotly contested general election. As we gather here this morning, the election results are still being collated and announced. We expect shortly to be informed who will be the next president of our republic and the people who will represent Nigerians in the 10th Assembly.
“Elections in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-party democracy too often devolve into fault lines, generating abundant conflict and controversy. The test of an advanced democracy is the ability to manage grievances and settle disagreements without causing fatal damage to the body politic,” he said.
Reacting to the call by former president Olusegun Obasanjo for the cancellation of some results in places where the BVAS malfunctioned, the speaker warned against utterances that suggest illegal resolution of disputes arising from the elections.
He noted that the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022 that govern elections in Nigeria both define a framework of post-election dispute resolution and adjudication.
.“It is not in the interest of our country, now or ever, to advocate for or embrace extra-legal interventions to resolve electoral disputes and address grievances. We must avoid actions or utterances that set the stage for interventions that could be fatal to our democracy and the gains we have made over the last two decades.
“This is the time, despite whatever disappointments we may each feel, to reject considerations of partisan and other interests to come together and make sure first that our country survives and our imperfect democracy continues its march towards progress and a more perfect union.
“This is the time for political, social, religious and economic leaders across the nation to work steadfastly together towards the ends of law and due process. I am confident we will rise above the worst expectations others may have of us in defining this moment. We will resist malign actors seeking to exploit this moment of tension for their own ends. We will defeat the cynicism of those waiting to see their worst predictions for our country become real. Nigeria will be at peace because we will work through the law and due process to resolve differences, settle disputes and ensure the peaceful transition of power,” he said.
