2023 elections will be best-organised polls in Nigeria, Lawan tells EU observers, Odinga

Senate President Ahmad Lawan has assured the European Union election observers delegation and former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga that the 2023 general elections would be the best conducted in Nigeria

Mr Lawan spoke on Tuesday in Abuja when he received the election observers and former Mr Odinga, who paid separate courtesy visits.

“The general elections this year will probably be the best because we worked so hard in the National Assembly to produce a very good document to guide the electoral environment in Nigeria,” said Mr Lawan while receiving the EU delegation led by Thomas Boserup, the deputy chief observer.

The senate president cited the amendment of the electoral law and the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), which he believed would hinder manipulations of results.

“The thing that motivates us more is what we have been able to give to INEC. I think INEC is a princely institution. We have always prioritised INEC. We believe that INEC shouldn’t be in want. When INEC makes a request, we believe we should always give INEC what our country can afford,” Mr Lawan explained.

He added, “We want INEC to perform very well. We want the elections in 2023 to be very credible and very transparent, and with the introduction of BVAS, we believe we can achieve that feat. Your (EU)statement in 2019 was very helpful. We believe that the stability of Nigeria is the stability of Africa and, indeed, the stability of the world. And what you are doing is not only to stabilise our political or electoral process but to ensure that other countries copy from us.”

While receiving the Kenyan former prime minister and his delegation, Mr Lawan re-echoed similar sentiments about the 2023 polls.

Mr Lawan commended Mr Odinga for ensuring that Kenyan democracy is peaceful and stable, stating, “We gave INEC so much power and for it to introduce technology in the elections to reduce subjectivity, the possibility of rigging and some unwholesome attitude of some politicians or their agents. And we believe that the 2023 elections will have the best and highest quality of election processes than the previous ones.”

Mr Odinga said Nigeria and Kenya had maintained a long-standing relationship and expressed delight in his further knowledge about the uniqueness of the Nigerian National Assembly concerning the Kenyan parliament.