By Ignatius Okorocha
Ahead of the Edo and Ondo states governorship polls, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday accused President Muhammadu Buhari’s led government for purposely foot-dragging on the amendment of the Electoral Act.
This was as the party also raised the alarm over what it considered as excessive borrowing by the government to finance 2020 budget and asked its caucus to resist further attempt by the government to engage in external borrowing.
Speaking to journalists after a closed door meeting of the National Working Committee of the party with the Senate caucus of the PDP in the National Assembly yesterday, national chairman of the party, Uche Secondus accused the Buhari led government of purposely foot dragging on the amendment of the Electoral Act.
He wondered why the All Progressive Congress (APC) has refused to push for the amendment of the Act with the governorship election in Edo and few other states in the country coming up prior to 2023 general elections.
He challenged the Senate caucus of the party to spare no effort in ensuring that electoral Act amendment is given all necessary attention on the floor of the senate.
“I think that for today’s meeting at the senate in the national assembly we came to interact with our senators, the PDP caucus. We held a very useful discussion on behalf of the leadership of the party.
“We tabled before the senate caucus of PDP the issue of electoral reforms which is also on our minds and on the minds of Nigerians,” he noted.
“We are also worried about the continuous borrowing by the executive arm of Government. If it continues like this, Nigerians would be feeling the pains on their neck and It will get to a point if we continue to borrow the way the executive arm is carrying on, it will be difficult to breath both politically and economically, so this must come to an end, there must be an end to borrowing. Those are the issues we have asked our senators to raise in the senate.”
Also fielding questions from journalists, Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Ennyinaya Abaribe, assured party faithful that matters leading to acrimony among Senators of PDP extraction have been resolved amicably at the crucial meeting with the NWC.
“We have had a very useful discussion about the happenings in the National Assembly and our role in the senate and in the National Assembly and I can say that it was a very productive meeting.
“All the matters that affect senators were all discussed and satisfactorily resolved. And like I said it is normal that there are disagreements between political parties and we can be very certain that these disagreements can be easily resolved when you understand each other and when you have meetings of this nature which we have done.”
