Speaker of the House of Representatives,YakubuDogara, has raised an alarm over the fate of the general elections.

He said he was worried about the refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the 2019 Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

The Speaker made the comments in his welcome address to members of the lower chamber of the National Assembly in Abuja during Thursday’s plenary.

He explained that the bill was intended to minimise the risk to the country’s democracy.

Speaker Dogara alleged that the current Electoral Act gives room for manipulation of the coming elections.

President Buhari had declined assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill for the fourth time in December 2018.

He explained that signing the bill into law at a time when the nation was close to the general elections may give way for confusion and disruption of the polls.

The President, however, asked the National Assembly to specify in the bill that the amendments to the Electoral Act would come into effect and be applicable to elections commencing after the general polls.

He had also insisted that declining assent to the bill was “in the best interest of the country and our democracy”.

•Sourced from a Channels TV report