Worried about the long delay in concluding work on the electoral reform, a former governor of Oyo State, Lam Adesina, has accused the federal government of insincerity in the quest to make votes count in Nigeria.
Mr Adesina, who is also the leader of Action Congress (AC) in Oyo State, doubts if it will be possible to conclude the reform process before the coming elections.
He was speaking in Ibadan at the weekend after the final burial rites and 40-day fidau prayer of Bintu Agbeke Alli, mother of Lateef Adebola Alli, former member of the House of Representatives, and a member of his party.
Lamenting the pace of work on the much-touted reform, the former governor said with less than seven months to the general elections, he has no faith in government's commitment to the project.
Mr. Adesina, however, praised the National Assembly for rejecting the proposal for a two-party system in the country, saying the decision was in the best interest of the country.
He recalled the experiment of the former military head of state, Ibrahim Babangida during the aborted third republic, when he conscripted all politicians to join either the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) or National Republican Convention (NRC), describing it as a military contraption which did not take into cognizance the many pluralities in Nigeria.
Multi-party is best
The former governor said multi party system will take care of the nation's multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual tendencies, adding that "the parties should be allowed to exist and canvass for votes and with time, the nonviable ones would fizzle out".
Mr. Adesina also urged President Goodluck Jonathan to ignore the call on him to contest the next presidential election, but use the one year period to address the problems of power, security and flawed electoral system plaguing the country.
He explained that the Northern part of the country "still has the slot and the president should not do anything that can derail the arrangement. He should not contest, that is my advice for him". Link
