Electoral Act Amendment: Ortom Backs Buhari For Withholding Assent

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for declining to assent to the 2021 Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday in Makurdi, Ortom insisted that party primaries were the exclusive reserve of political parties.

He said that direct primaries were expensive hence only big parties with enormous resources could afford them.

On indirect primaries, he said that the process only differed with direct primaries in terms of election of delegates at the ward levels.

Ortom said of all the processes of electing candidates, the consensus mode of election was the best.

“On the consensus mode, members of the party come together and agree on a candidate thereby saving money, time and it is devoid of rancour,” he said.

He appealed to the National Assembly to accept the reasons deduced by the president while refusing to assent to the bill.

He, however, agreed with parts of the amendment bill that adopted the electronic transmission of election results.

“It will engender transparency in the electoral system and also add value to the system,” he said.