The President’s Senior Special
Assistant on Legislative Matters, Senator Ita Enang, has explained that
President Muhammadu Buhari was yet to assent the Electoral Act Amendment Bill
(2018) because executive scrutiny on it has not been concluded.
Enang gave this explanation
yesterday when he appeared as guest on Channel TV’s Sunday Politics, in Abuja.
Recall that Buba Galadima, an
estranged political ally of President Buhari, had earlier alleged that elements
around the presidency out to rig the 2019 elections were hindering him from
assenting the proposed amendments to the Electoral Act.
Expressing a contrary view, Enang
pointed out that the presidential scrutiny was a routine responsibility of the
office of the Head of State to ensure that any law as important as the
Electoral Act was not only error-free but fair to all parties.
He noted that it was through
similar scrutiny that the errors and drafting issues in the previous editions
of the Bill were discovered.
The presidential aide therefore
said it was too early to start speculating if the President would sign the
proposed amendments or not since he was still within time as stipulated by the
constitution.
Enang said: “Mr. President is
still considering the Bill (Electoral Act Amendment) within the laws and
provisions of the constitution because when a president or governor puts pen to
paper assenting to a Bill, the executive arm of government is bound, the
legislature is bound, all persons who have anything to do with the legislation
are bound.”
He explained further that,
“Whenever Mr. President receives a Bill, he looks at what were the historical
jurisprudence behind the proposed amendments and what were the issues to
ascertain if they were taken account of.
“If that has been taken care of,
he looks at drafting issues which if not properly taken account of in the
presentation would create problems or the Courts at all levels (to interpret).
There’s also the cross-referencing problems.
“Mr President is still within
time allowed by law to consider the Bill.”
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