President Muhammadu Buhari says
he rejected the electoral amendment bill because it could affect the 2019
elections.
The president said this in a
letter sent to the national assembly.
In the letter, the president said signing the bill into law could “create
uncertainty and confusion” during the forthcoming elections.
“Pursuant to section 58 (4) of
constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), I hereby
convey to the House of Representatives, my decision on 6th December 201 to
decline Presidential Accent to the Electoral (Amendment) Bill , 2018 recently
passed by the National Assembly,” he wrote.
“I am declining assent to the
Bill principally because I am concerned that passing a new electoral bill this
far into the electoral process for the 2019 general election which commenced
under the 2015 Electoral Act, could create some uncertainty about the
applicable legislation to govern the process.
“Any real or apparent change to
the rules this close to the election may provide an opportunity for disruption
and confusion in respect of which law governs the electoral process.”
Buhari appealed to the lawmakers
to revise some clauses in the bill, expressing optimism that it would take
effect after the elections.
“This leads me to believe that it
is in the best interest of the country and our democracy for the national
assembly to specifically state in the Bill, that the Electoral Act will come
into effect and be applicable to elections commencing after the 2019 General
Election,” he said.
“It is also important for the
following drafting amendments to be made to the Bill: section 5 of the Bill,
amending section 18 of the Principal Act should indicate the subsection to
which the substitution of the figure “30” for the figure “60” is to be
affected.
“Section 11 of the Bill, amending
Section 36 should indicate the subsection in which the proviso is to be
introduced.
“Section 24 of the Bill which
amends Section 85 (1) should be redrafted in full as the introduction of the
“electing” to the sentence may be interpreted to mean that political parties
may give 21 days notice of the intention to merge, as opposed to the 90 days
provided in Section 84 (2) of the Electoral Act which provides the provision
for merge of political parties.
“The definition of the term “Ward
Collection officer” should be revised to reflect a more descriptive definition
than the capitalized and undefined term “Registration Area Collation Officer.”
This is the third time that the
president would reject the bill. In March, Buhari withheld assent to the bill
saying the proposed law would usurp the constitutional powers of Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) to decide on election matters.
In September, Buhari turned down
the bill for the second time, asking the national assembly to revise some
clauses.
The national assembly had passed
the bill on July 24 and transmitted to the president on August 3.
Among the controversies on the
bill are the reordering of the sequence of the 2019 elections, placing the
presidential poll last, instead of the governorship and state assemblies, and
also exclusion of the use of card readers during elections.
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Something is very fishy!
ReplyDeleteWhy is he not signing it?
And why are the lawmakers desperate so late into incoming elections
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTHE REASON FOR NOT SIGNING IT IS OBVIOUS - "IT WILL CREATE CONFUSION IN THE 2019 ELECTORAL PROCESS AND BECOME OBJECT OF LITIGATION IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE GENERAL ELECTIONS! BUT THE DESPETATE SARAKI AND HIS COHORTS ARE DESPERATELY PUSHING IT AGAINST THE TIDES.
ReplyDeleteMAY GOD SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY FROM DESPERADOS!
A big amen to that brother
Delete