PDP GOVERNOR’S FORUM INSIST ON THE INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION, INEC, TO DEPLOY APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGIES NECESSARY TO ENSURE THAT THE VOTES OF EVERY NIGERIAN IS COUNTED AND MADE TO COUNT.

A head of the 2023 general elections, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governor’s Forum has requested the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to deploy appropriate technologies necessary to ensure that the votes of every Nigerian is counted and made to count.

Similarly, the forum has also tasked the Nigerian Communications Commission NCC, especially, the Universal Service Provision Fund, USPF, Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd, and telephone companies to ensure that universal access and service of information and communication technologies ICTs are provided especially in rural, un-served and under-served areas of the Country before the 2023 general elections.

The Governors, who met in Bauchi, Bauchi State on Monday stated these in a ten point communiqué issued at the end of their meeting, during which they deliberated and reviewed the deteriorating state of the Country’s democracy, the economic and security situation in the Country.

Chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum and Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who read the communiqué said the forum identified the need for a free, fair and credible elections in the country and called on the National Assembly to entrench electronic transmission of results of elections in the nation’s electoral Jurisprudence.

The PDP Governors condemned the attempt to foist on all political parties, one method of conducting primaries, that is, by direct method only through the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

According to the forum, the direct method is prone to massive rigging, as evidenced by a situation where President Muhammadu Buhari scored about fifteen Million votes in the 2018 APC direct primaries, only to score fifteen Million votes from the entire Country in the 2019 general election.

The Governors stressed that political parties, should be allowed to decide whether to use direct or indirect method of conducting primaries as part of internal democracy in political parties.

Again, the PDP Governors condemned the use of underhand tactics to arm twist some of their colleagues and other stakeholders to join the APC, a political party that has wrecked Nigeria’s economy, turned Nigeria into a killing field and has nothing to offer Nigerians, but misery and bad governance.

The forum lampooned President Buhari and APC for turning the Presidential Villa, that belongs to all Nigerians, into the new APC Headquarters, where coerced PDP members are being paraded at intervals.

On the issue of the economy, the PDP governors admonished the APC Federal Government to collaborate more with State Governments to stem the unemployment scourge affecting the youths of Nigeria, through technology and increased production in all fields of endeavour.

The Governors advised the Federal Government to stop paying lip service on the case of doing business, as foreign direct investments have continued to fall partly due to obstacles placed on foreign companies wishing to invest in Nigeria.

The PDP Governors maintained it was time to bring the activities of bandits, kidnappers and terrorists to an end, through increased use of military equipment, traditional means of conflict resolution and technology for surveillance and the development of the political will to flush them out.

The Governors reiterated, the need for the NNPC and other revenue generating agencies of Government to strictly abide by the constitution by remitting all their revenue less cost of production into the Federation Account as provided for by Section 162 of the constitution.

They enjoined all Nigerians of goodwill to take advantage of the ongoing registration of voters by INEC to register to vote, thereby arming themselves with the necessary tools in the struggle to rescue Nigeria from the APC maladministration.

The form thanked the Governor of Bauchi, Senator Bala Mohamed for providing a conducive atmosphere for the meeting and for the huge difference he has made in provision of infrastructure and general welfare of citizens of the state.