The speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila has said that the 2023 general election was a defining moment for the country. The Speaker therefore warned those planning to cause trouble before, during and after the elections to refrain from doing so as they will be doing so at their own peril.
The Speaker who spoke when a delegation of the European Union Election Observation Mission to Nigeria visited him in his office however asked observer groups to interact with all the political parties and various interest groups to get a fair and accurate assessment of the election process. He however insisted that the country was prepared for the conduct of the elections,
While expressing appreciation to the European Union for their support in making elections in Nigeria free, fair and credible, the Speaker emphasized that the process leading to an election is something you develop. He said people talk about economic development, political development, social development and infrastructure while forgetting the fact that these things have to be built on credible election because that is the foundation of the development of any nation.
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“We have done all that we need to do as a responsible National Assembly. There were issues that were contentious, including the issue of BVAS which is technology and some people thought this was fantastic. There are others who believe that the system may not work in the rural areas. But we have been assured by INEC that it will not be the case and we hope that it remain like that because one vote not counting could deface the whole process. So, we are hoping that there will be no issue in terms of technology.
While asking the election observer missions and monitors in Nigeria to get balanced views by speaking to a broad range of stakeholders before making their conclusions on the outcome of the forthcoming general elections, he said it will be dangerous to run with the views of a section of the political class. Gbajabiamila, said that reports on election outcomes could only reflect what truly transpired when observer missions engaged with multiple stakeholders.
Leader of the delegation and member of the European Parliament, Barry Andrews said the EU was glad to be able to support Nigerian democracy abs had often made series of recommendations which are well received and implemented. He disclosed that the EU observer mission will be deploying about 40 observers for the 2023 elections and will release a preliminary report on the presidential and National Assembly elections two days after the elections.