Former President Goodluck Jonathan has urged the National Assembly (NASS) to make laws that prohibit off-season elections in Nigeria.
Jonathan led this out on Saturday after casting his vote in the November 11, 2023 governorship poll at Ward 13, Polling Unit 39, at Otuoke in the Ogbia Local Government Area of the sate.
He said: “First, let me congratulate the three states that have elections today. Bayelsa State, Imo State, and Kogi State, in which I wish all the states successful elections and peaceful conduct of elections.
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“But, because this is an offseason election and I get worried about the issue of offseason elections, I will use this unique opportunity to plead with the National Assembly that we need to block this office in elections. It’s very odd. It’s not global best practice.”
“A country can elect its people at different times, like America and some countries, but not everybody at the same time. But anytime they go to an election, they elect everybody.
“If we continue with this trend of off-season elections based on the interpretation of our laws by the judicial officer, in that case, we’ll come to a time when the presidential election in Nigeria may be off-season. Probably that is the time that all of you media people and others will be worried.
“Look at the American system; everybody knows when the American elections will be held, and that’s become standard practice,” he added.
“when I ran as a running mate to the late President Yar’Adua, You know that in that election, three of the seven justices that presided over the case stated in their judgment that the election be annulled. Four of them sustained the elections, and that is why we stayed. If one has crossed over by now, the presidential election in Nigeria would have been an off-season election, and it is not the best for a country.
