14 June 2008
Abuja — The new electoral system will formally take effect from December 2009 in line with the present administration's pledge to ensure a long term political stability in the country, President Umaru Musa Yar'adua has said.
Addressing Nigerians resident in France during his state visit to that country, Yar'adua said the National Electoral Reform Committee is working hard to conclude its work before the year runs out.
This was contained in a statement yesterday by the president's Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Olusegun Adeniyi.
"We are hoping that by the end of 2009, we will have an electoral process that will provide Nigeria with what it requires to establish a long-term political stability and entrench a culture of democracy and the rule of law," the President said.
He also told the gathering at the residence of the Nigerian Ambassador to France on the outskirts of Paris that within the context of the electoral reforms, his administration will consider measures to ensure that the estimated five million Nigerians in the diaspora are able to vote in future elections.
President Yar'adua said while the country undoubtedly has the resources and capability to achieve the objective of becoming one of the 20 most developed economies in the world by the year 2020, all Nigerians must identify with the vision and commit themselves to attain the political stability, peace and security needed to make it realisable.
The president also spoke of his administration's intention to reform Nigeria's petroleum and gas sector to ensure that the downstream sector is well established and becomes self-sufficient in the processing of the country's oil and gas resources.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Daily Trust. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
