The former President of Nigeria Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, has urged the United States (U.S) to extend the visa ban it slammed on some Nigerian politicians to include electoral officers, security officials, and judicial officers, who are guilty of undermining the country’s democratic process by their actions during and after elections.
The former Senate President also called for strong enforcement of the law, which provide strong punishment of politicians, law enforcement agents, ordinary citizens and electoral officers, who are caught in the act of truncating electoral processes.
He said, “All stakeholders must show commitment to diligent enforcement of and compliance with the law. This has been addressed in the 2010 Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2019 worked upon by the Eighth National Assembly.”
Saraki said this on Tuesday while speaking on the topic, ‘Electoral Reforms and Democracy’, in an event organized by the Centre for Advancement of Civil Liberties to mark the International Day of Democracy.
He then submitted that a faulty electoral process is a threat to Nigeria’s democracy.
He urged the Ninth National Assembly to accelerate action on the Electoral Act as the next general election is about 30 months away.
He said, “Nothing threatens our democracy more than a faulty electoral process. We cannot afford to allow our populace to lose faith in the democratic process. That will be a recipe for chaos.”
