Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said that the current trend of off-cycle elections may affect presidential polls in Nigeria.
Describing the trend as odd, Jonathan urged the National Assembly to enact a law that prohibits off-season elections in the country.
The former Nigerian leader spoke on Saturday after casting his vote in the governorship poll at Ward 13, Polling Unit 39, at Otuoke in the Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Like Bayelsa, governorship elections are held in Imo and Kogi on Saturday.
However, Jonathan, who was Nigeria’s President between February 2010 and May 2015, said off-cycle polls should be struck out and harmonised with the general elections.
Jonathan, who leads international election observers to other countries, noted that with the way things are going in Nigeria, the presidential election might become off-season.
“Off-session election almost happened in 2007 when I contested as a running mate with President Umaru Yar’adua but it was prevented,” Jonathan said.
“I get worried by the issue of off-season elections. And I use this opportunity to plead with the National Assembly that we need to block these off-season elections. It is very odd; it is not a global best practice.
“If we continue with this trend of off-season elections based on the interpretation of our laws by the judicial officers, it will come to a time when the presidential election will be off-season.
“Look at the American system, everybody knows when the American election will be conducted.”
Politics Nigeria reports that in March, governorship elections were held in 28 out of the 36 states of the Federation.
This was so because the governorship elections of eight states (Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Osun and Ondo) are held off-season due to litigations and court judgements.
