A former Chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in Rivers State, Apostle Eugene Ogu, has petitioned the governments of the United States of America and the United Nations over the refusal of the National Assembly to approve direct electronic transmission of election results in real time.
Ogu said the position of the federal legislature poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s democracy and called on the European Union and the wider international community to intervene.
The petition, which was made available to journalists in Port Harcourt on Friday, accused the National Assembly of undermining democratic principles by failing to entrench electronic transmission of results in the electoral process.
The cleric, who is the founder of Abundant Life Evangel Mission based in Port Harcourt, warned lawmakers he described as “political contractors” to desist from actions capable of destabilising the country, stressing that any attempt to derail constitutional democracy would be resisted by Nigerians.
In the petition, Ogu said while Nigerians have endured years of poor governance marked by corruption, insecurity and decaying infrastructure, the National Assembly must not compromise the country’s democratic future.
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“Only a free, fair, transparent and legal electoral process with compulsory electronic transmission of election results, which is domiciled in the constitution, is what Nigerians crave,” the petition read.
He also criticised what he described as conflicting positions on electronic transmission of results, alleging that assurances previously given to Nigerians were later contradicted by claims that the process was not backed by the constitution.
Ogu further alleged that the refusal of the Senate to pass the bill on real-time electronic transmission of election results amounted to an invitation to rig the 2027 presidential election and manipulate the will of the people.