One of the leading contenders for the National Chairmanship of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Barrister Ibrahim Shehu Birma, has chided the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) over his recent statement that PDP is trying to explore some amendments in the Electoral Act to foist a one party State on Nigeria.
In a statement issued at his campaign office in Abuja, yesterday, Barrister Birma, described the statement by the former Lagos State Governor as a false alarm designed to dilute the huge electoral fortunes of the PDP over that of ACN since the dawn of democracy in Nigeria.
Birma, who described Tinubu as a statesman, wondered how a minor administrative amendment to the Electoral Act would lead to a one party state structure and asked Tinubu and the ACN to concentrate on selling their party to Nigerians to better their electoral fortunes rather than resorting to propaganda.
“I absolutely do not doubt his patriotism or integrity. I will join issues with him only with the utmost reverence and respect. But a minor administrative amendment to the electoral process requiring that legal wrangling emanating from the result of elections be resolved within a time frame cannot lead to a one party state in any way.
Instead, it will save time, resources and the prolonged acrimony associated with resolving electoral disputes in courts. This, I believe, is just a practical administrative amendment necessary to inject efficiency into the processes,” the party chieftain said.
He reminded Tinubu that ACN, as a party (more than any other party in this country), has the Nigerian judiciary to thank for a lot of their electoral victories. Of the six states controlled by ACN, three were awarded to them through the judicial process.