In order to guarantee that a newly elected President is not sworn in until all election petitions have been decided by the court, Debo Ologunagba, the Peoples Democratic Party’s national publicity secretary, has called for a constitutional amendment.
He said President Bola Tinubu was too distracted or preoccupied with election petitions to focus on governance, which is why the first seven months of his administration were a waste.
He claimed that this was one of the contributing factors to the current economic crisis the country is experiencing.
In a Wednesday interview with our correspondent, Ologunagba shared these opinions.
He maintained that there has never been a better moment to restructure the nation than now, given the current economic crisis.The nation is struggling with an increase in non-state actors killing people and kidnapping them for ransom. Many Nigerians have also experienced hardships due to the rising cost of food.
The PDP spokesman gave an assessment of the status of the country, saying, “As a party, we are organising ourselves, and I understand the National Assembly is discussing constitutional reforms.”
We intend to amend the electoral law as one of our concerns. We will support the idea of swearing in elected officials only after all court cases have been resolved.
The lack of activity from the government has resulted in hardship and insecurity. We were in court for the first seven months of this administration, so the government was too busy defending itself to do its job.
As a result, during our four-year term, we lost nine months to legal proceedings.“Additionally, we need to address true federalism. Why should local governments be enshrined in the constitution? This fosters incompetence, favoritism, and complacency.
For example, Kano State has 44 local governments, Lagos State has 20, and Katsina has 34. These disparities contribute to the injustices in our country, necessitating restructuring.“Now is the opportune moment to restructure the country.
Restructuring has always been the stance of the PDP. We discussed restructuring when we were in power but didn’t take concrete steps to implement it. If initiated now, it could help alleviate some of the current national challenges.”
He stated that restructuring needs to be taken seriously and should no longer be just talk.
“Even our presidential contender possessed a restructuring document. We have been promoting restructuring since the 2014 Conference, which was presided over by former President Goodluck Jonathan. But the same people in the All Progressives Congress were against it.”We started it because there is diversity in our nation in terms of language, religion, and ethnicity.
There is no other way to move forward and address these issues than by restructuring. All sectors will experience a sense of ownership and belonging as a result, he claimed.
In response, APC National Publicity Director Bala Ibrahim stated that the PDP and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, ought to bear the responsibility for the Tinubu administration’s indecision regarding electoral litigation.Ibrahim further pleaded with the National Assembly to consider the constitutional amendment request on its own merits and not to be influenced by the opposition party’s propaganda.”
Hopefully, the PDP listed Atiku Abubakar, its presidential candidate, as one of the signatories to the group supporting constitutional amendment. They must be forgetting their past if they are not doing that.
Nobody has ever extended or taken advantage of political and electoral litigation more than Atiku Abubakar.”The PDP needs to examine itself; Atiku is the primary perpetrator of the prolonged litigation surrounding the presidential elections, so they are the ones who need to find a solution.
He lost the most debates and the most confrontations. It is always him who takes his case all the way to the Supreme Court, starting at the tribunal.
Before pushing for a constitutional amendment by the National Assembly, they must first amend the constitution out of conscience. Rather than considering the situation subjectively, the NASS should evaluate it objectively before making a decision.
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