TIME TO NAIL NIGERIAN SENATE COFFIN WITH A REFERENDUM!

ZION B-BC   NEWSLETTER.   

(Looking at Nigeria and the World's Political System From a Godly Perspective).

A Publication of the Zion Faith Bible-Believing Church Kpeyegyi Abuja Nigeria {Vol. 10.NO 414. 18th July, 2021.} “…ONLY The Truth, Will Set You Free! (John.8:32).  PRAY & FAST EVERY WEDNESDAY TO STOP BLOODSHED IN NIGERIA!

TIME TO NAIL NIGERIAN SENATE COFFIN WITH A REFERENDUM!

The clarion call by Office of The Citizens of Nigeria for a unicameral parliamentary system got a boost at the weekend when the Senate at plenary passed the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill with a caveat which empowers NCC and NASS to determine use of electronic transmission of election results instead of INEC which has right of supervision of election according to Section 78 of the 1999 Constitution!

 Senate chose to abrogate Clause 52 (2), of the concluded Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021, of its Committee on INEC, which states that “.... voting at an election and transmission of results under this Bill shall be in accordance with procedure determined by the Commission”, and replaced it with an ambiguous version which virtually transferred constitutional powers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to electronically transmit results to the National Assembly. (NASS)!

The Senate on Thursday 15th July 2021, passed the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021, and brazenly usurped INEC’s, exclusive powers to transmit election results through electronic process except through NASS approval in consultation with the National Communication Commission (NCC)!

Legislators supported arguments in some quarters that about 48% of the nation’s land mass had no broadband telecommunications network coverage and decided that electronic transmission of election results would only be permissible provided that: “The national network coverage is adjudged to be adequate and secured by NCC and approved by the National Assembly.” Senate’s Thursday approval was sequel to a controversial amendment to Section 52(2) by Deputy Whip Aliyu Sabi Abdulahi (APC Niger) seconded by Senator Ali Ndume, (APC, Bornu South), that: “That the Commission MAY consider electronic transmission, provided the national network coverage is ADJUDGED to be adequate and secure by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and APPROVED by the National Assembly (NASS)” thereby deliberately usurping INEC’s powers in Sections 78 and 153 (1)(f)(2) and Part I Third Schedule F 14 - (1) (a) (b) (2) (a)-(c) and 15 (a)-(i) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999! 

Voting at plenary favoured the majority 52 APC Senators against 28 PDP opposition members but a total of 28 senators were absent! 

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE (HOS) VERSION OF THE ELECTORAL ACT (AMENDMENT) BILL 2021.

 The House of Representatives pretended to be very cautious to go in the same direction and adjourned plenary until Friday 16th July, 2021, to take some evidences from both INEC Chairman and NCC representatives! HOWEVER FRIDAY HOS PLENARY turned out to be very rowdy because minority PDP Opposition staged a walk out as the majority All Progressives Congress (APC), Deputy Speaker skipped the offensive Section 52 (2), failed to call on neither the INEC Chairman nor the NCC Representative to give assurances on electronic transmission of election results but moved on to Section 54 for plenary consideration!

And in the absence of the PDP Opposition members, the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2021 and the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) were passed in spite of public outcry of over 200 million people they PRETEND to represent!

THE CONTROVERSIAL SENATE’S APPROVAL!

Prior to Senate’s approval, a clause-by-clause consideration of the report of its Committee on INEC in Section 52 (2) that the electoral body “may transmit results of elections by electronic means where and when practicable”, had been considered and concluded BUT the two contending Senators (Sabi and Ndume), argued that its Committee’s recommendation that electronic transmission of results would “disenfranchise some Nigerians in areas with poor or no network coverage”, in spite of the fact that the contentious amendment by those lawmakers was an insertion contrary to earlier provision in Section 52(2) which states that: “VOTING AT AN ELECTION AND TRANSMISSION OF RESULT UNDER THIS BILL SHALL BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROCEDURE DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSION”.

Chairman of Senate Committee on INEC, Kabiru Gaya, also played the black leg by siding with the objectors and voted against its earlier committee’s recommendation at plenary by claiming that the new position was better!

Senate President Ahmed Lawan said at the conclusion of the FRAUDULENT EXERCISE that if any differences were spotted in legislation passed by the HOS, conference committee would be constituted to harmonise the Bill when they returned from their annual recess/summer holidays and “hoped that the new legislation would improve future elections”!  

HISTORY OF THE ELECTORAL ACT (AMENDMENT) BILL 2021.

The bill which seeks to repeal and re-enact the 2010 Electoral Act which Amendments were rejected THREE TIMES by the Buhari Administration between the months of March and December 2018!

To resolve issues regarding INEC’s proposed introduction of other technologies outside of Card Readers into the electrical process, - especially in respect of electronic voting and transmission of results from polling units

This same bill is now being prepared by the Ninth Assembly to “sail through” by hook or crook and create undue latitude for the ruling party to manoeuvre electronic accreditation which INEC introduced in 2019 – through the CARD READERS – as against Section 49 of the Electoral Act 2010, which allowed MANUAL REGISTRATION, which APC still preferred in a technology-boosted 21st Century!! 

NATIONAL OUTCRY THAT APC WAS POISED TO RIG 2023 ELECTIONS BY IMPOSING DUBIOUS ELECTORAL AMENDMENT BILL THROUGH RUBBER - STAMP SENATE IS TRUE INDEED!

Professor Attahiru Jega, the erstwhile Chairman of INEC has added his voice to critics of NASS unpopular decision and postulated that electronic transmission of results  would ensure that the traditional fraudulent activity of changing results from polling units to the collation centre would be a thing of the past.

He further said that it was useless for the current lawmakers to approve electronic registration through the Card Reader and deny electronic transmission of results.

We know it is common knowledge that there is broadband connectivity in all 774 LGAs contrary to what Senators want Nigerians to believe since their primary motive was how to rig elections and remain in political power permanently!

THE EXIT OF SENATE IS CLOSER AND CLOSER!

Without an iota of doubt, it is now very urgent that our persistent advocacy that the Nigerian Senate should be SCRAPPED is gaining momentum by the day and in the “twinkling of an eye”, the Red Chamber of misfits, reeking with corruption, inefficiency, opportunists, political jobbers, money–mongers etc; POPULAR REFERENDUM from OFFICE OF THE CITIZENS, will engulf the nation like a RUSHING WIND and the WILL OF GOD WILL BE DONE IN NIGERIA NOT ONLY IN THE ISSUE OF THE SENATE BUT OTHER PRESSING NAGGING ISSUES OF DEMOCRACY! 

SIMPLE ‘YES’ OR ‘NO’ WILL SOLVE NIGERIA’S INTRANSIGENT INSECURITY PERMANENTLY!

MARGINALIZATION is a household word among the over 250 tribes/500 tongues of the 36 States – including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), comprising the 6 Geo-Political Zones!

To marginalize means, relegate to a lower or outer edge, as of specific groups of people like in Nigeria where everyone complains of being short-changed in the distribution of the nation’s abundant  natural resources.

And in 60 years of independence the country has produced a host of Frankenstein monsters in form of terrorists, murderers, kidnappers, bandits etc, that have prevented the educated from developing socio-economic infrastructures and have continually decimated the population through horrible of brigandage and unimaginable criminality!

BUT WITH THE REFERENDUM’S SIMPLE “YES” OR “NO”, TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ALL CRIMINALS  WILL DROP THEIR WEAPONS AND NIGERIA WILL EMBRACE EVERLASTING PEACE AGAIN!

Should the Nigeria SENATE be disbanded and shut down? YES!

Should a UNICAMERAL PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT with 74 or less members be established to replace the DOLLAR-GULPING PRESIDENCY REGIME? YES!

DEVOLUTION OF POWERS to the States through Resource Control/Self Governance SO THAT STATES SHOULD PAY NEGOTIATED PERCENTAGE TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT? YES! 

STATE POLICE AND STATE PRISONS to be run by all States of the Federation in respect of ALL crimes? YES! 

INDEPENDENT CANDIDACY should be enjoyed if such candidate was not a member of any political party, six months prior to any election? YES! 

Should the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs), enjoy constitutional autonomy and be free to legislate and create any number of councils as they so desired? YES! 

Food, Drugs and poison to be moved to the Concurrent List so that States could constitutionally legislate on those items, while narcotics/psychotropic substances should remain on the Exclusive List? Yes!  

Labor issues, trade unions, industrial relations, conditions, safety/welfare, disputes/minimum wages/ industrial arbitration, should be handled by both States/Federal Governments who should enjoy independent legislation? YES! 

Mines and minerals, oil fields and mining, geological surveys and natural gas that are ONSHORE will be vested in all States of the Federation, while all OFF-SHORE OIL shall be vested in the government of the federation? YES! 

Registration of Business Names should be on the Concurrent List for companies to choose their areas of operations; State or nationwide? YES! 

Collection of Stamp Duties should be moved to the Concurrent List, for the States to collect duties from individual and small businesses while Federal Government collects Stamp Duties from Limited Liabilities Companies? YES! 

Issue of Citizenship, Local Government or State of Origin, which had hitherto been discriminatory, "should be replaced with State of Residence", through a proposed amendment to the Federal Character Commission Act to allow people domicile in a place to be considered as INDIGENES of such place? YES!

NB: PUBLISH AND SHARE THIS ARTICLE WITH YOUR FRIENDS ALL OVER THE SOCIAL MEDIA AS THE ADVOCACY FOR THE MASSES REFERENDUM SPREADS LIKE WILD FIRE AND THE OFFICE OF THE CITIZENS TAKES OVER ITS RIGHTFUL PLACE OF SOVEREIGN OWNERSHIP OF THE POLITY!

Please look forward to more divine revelation in the next edition of Zion B-BC Newsletter as you share this with friends and remain blessed in the Lord. [For weekly access, to this newsletter, log on to:  facebook.com/zionfaithbible.believingchurch or http://www.zfbbc1.blogspot.com, 

If you have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour, don’t miss this great opportunity as you pray this prayer: Lord Jesus; I confess that I am a sinner who needs to be saved through the grace of the New Testament of your Blood, shed on the Cross at Calvary; I renounce every sin in my life and accept you as my Lord and Saviour. Please forgive me and write my name in the Book of Life. Amen. If you prayed this prayer, you have been admitted into the family of sons and daughters of God, who are born-again. Congratulations.  

I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon, Resident Pastor and Editor. 08130669886, 08080243066. g-mail-dvdolufon@gmail.