Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has commended the National Assembly for its decision to allow the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to determine the use of electronic voting and transfer of election results.
He said the National Assembly Joint Committee’s resolution to allow INEC to transmit election results electronically was a good development for the country’s democracy.
A statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Kelvin Ebiri, revealed that Wike stated this in Port Harcourt, yesterday while reacting to the Senate’s decision to rescind its earlier stance against electronic transmission of results.
The governor, who has been a proponent of a transparent electoral system, noted that most countries of the world had moved beyond manual collation and declaration of election results and Nigeria could not afford to be left behind in the 21st century.
He commended President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, all principal officers and members, who decided to listen to what is good for Nigeria and for Nigerians.
Speaking further on the amendment of the Electoral Act, Wike, who stated that direct or indirect primaries should be the exclusive decision of political parties, that it would be unfair for the National Assembly to prescribe how to conduct primaries for political parties.
Wike insisted that prescribing how political parties conduct their primaries was tantamount to interfering in the internal politics of political parties.
He faulted the bill sponsored by the Deputy President of the Senate seeking the establishment of two Nigerian Law School campuses in each geopolitical zone.
Meanwhile, the governor signed the Rivers State Judicial Institute Law No. 8 of 2021 and the Rivers State Housing Scheme for Judicial Officers Law No. 10 of 2021.
He explained that the legislation would contribute to the promotion of judicial independence and reduce corruption among judicial officers.
Wike spoke yesterday at the Government House, Port Harcourt, after signing the two bills passed by the Rivers State House of Assembly and presented to him by the Majority Leader of the House, Martins Amaewhule.
He said the provision of personal homes to judicial officers would serve as motivation to resist all forms of gratification capable of compromising the rectitude of their judicial functions.
“The second bill, which I have signed, has to do with the housing scheme. This is where I think the judiciary should be talking about autonomy, as I consider it the main autonomy,” he said.