For the fourth time – thrice in 2018 – President Muhammadu Buhari has withheld his assent to the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2021.
In a letter to the senate president, Mr. Ahmed Lawan, the president said the prevailing situation in the country would not allow him to sign the bill.
Among other reasons for rejecting the bill, the president cited high cost of conducting direct primaries, the security challenge of monitoring the election, violation of citizens’ rights and marginalisation of small political parties.
According to ThisDay report, Buhari also said he had received informed advice from relevant ministries, departments and agencies of the government, and had also carefully reviewed the bill in light of the current realities prevalent in Nigeria in the circumstances.
The president said it would be better to allow each political party to determine its mode of selecting candidates for election.
Meanwhile, member representing Obio/Akpor federal constituency of Rivers State, Mr. Kingsley Chinda, reacted to the development saying the president is only afraid of electronic transfer of results.
“The President is only toying with the psychology of Nigerians. His problem with the electoral act is not the direct primary but the direct transmission of results from the polling units. They do not want direct transmission and are only using the direct party primary as an excuse.
“I have long lost hope in the ability of the 9th NASS to confront the Executive on behalf of Nigerians when the Senate President unapologetically said that whatever the President wants, he will do. I hope to be disappointed or proved wrong by NASS successfully overriding the President.”
Former senator and an erstwhile national secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Mr. Alex Kadiri, who represented Kogi East from 1999 to 2003 said: “The President is so weak governors dictate to him. I am in support of the National Assembly to veto the bill if the President refuses to sign it.
“Buhari cannot be bigger than Nigeria. This is a man who came in through direct primary himself. Don’t forget the primary he won in Lagos, they voted throughout the night and Tinubu made sure he won.
“Why is he now opposed to direct primary because the governors don’t want it? The governors want a situation where delegates would be brought to their capitals so that they will just bribe them overnight. That is all.”
For its part, the Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA) said the bill should be given legal tooth by the parliament through a two-third majority vote of members.
CTA, in a statement by its executive director, Faith Nwadishi, urged the National Assembly to, in the “spirit of patriotism, upturn the President’s decision as “a way to conducting free, fair, and credible elections that will stand the taste of the time.”
The group accused the president of taking interest in mundane things “that will benefit a few members of his cabal, instead of improving our elections and the integrity of the electoral process.”
“Recall that in 2018, President Buhari failed to assent to the bill as amended then with the excuse that the time was too close to the 2019 general elections.
“The delay until this time confirmed the fears that the provisions envisaged by the citizens and expectations thereof may be dashed by the actions of the president. Laws are made for the interest and benefit of the people and not for those in power.
“The reasoning by the President concerning the provisions on party primaries should not be held unto to truncate the wishes of Nigerians,” CTA said.
YIAGA’s director of programmes, Cyntha Mbamalu, said since Buhari “is failing Nigerians,” the national assembly ought to use its constitutional power to override him.
“The president should realise he is failing Nigerians because this is the electoral amendment that a lot of Nigerians got interested in and we have been making demands for certain things.
“There are two options. The President had the deadline yesterday. The National Assembly has the power of veto and needs to exercise that power because they are the arm of government that has the power to actually checkmate the Executive.
“We already know we have lawmakers who think that whatever the President says is final, but this is the time for us Nigerians to also put the pressure on them,” Mbamalu.
Other civil society organisations also expressed shock and disappointment at the failure of the president to assent to bill and called on the national assembly to override the president’s veto.
In a joint statement signed by executive director, Adopt A Goal Initiative, Ariyo-Dare Atoye, and endorsed by the convener, Raising New Voices Initiative, Jude Feranmi; programme officer, Centre for Liberty, Maryam Ahmed; convener, Speak Out Africa Initiative, Kenneth Eze; executive director, The Nigerian Alliance, Simi Olusola; and executive director, Youth and Students Advocates for Development Initiative (YSAD), Obinna Eze Nwagbara, the groups accused the president of trying to destroy the country’s democracy.
“It has come to the point where we must tell President Buhari in unmistaken terms that his failure to sign the bill within the 30 days window has exposed him as the biggest threat to the Fourth democratic republic, having failed to perform a similar responsibility four times in his first term.
“President Buhari benefitted significantly from some of the electoral reforms initiated by Yar’Adua and signed by Jonathan; if he fails to sign the amended electoral act, history will record him as a major impediment to electoral credibility and governance. This is a low hanging lifetime opportunity for the president to salvage his terrible electoral credential.”
“There is a constitutional window opened to the National Assembly to recall the bill and give it the effect of law with a two-thirds number. From Monday morning, we will turn to the National Assembly to act in the national interest and pass the bill expeditiously before they embark on the Christmas recess.
“Consequently, the next step is for us as CSOs to take our advocacy to the National Assembly to step in, exhibit courage, recall the bill, and ensure they override the president with an accelerated passage before Christmas.
“The Ninth National Assembly has deferred too much to President Buhari almost to the point of ridicule, so, if the president does not respect and reciprocate this gesture, history will be kind to them if they override the president and salvage their own political future.
“This will not be the first time in the last 20 years that the National Assembly will override the president; the Fourth legislative session did so and got the NDDC Act passed and operational. The Ninth National Assembly has the opportunity of not sharing with the executive, the glory that will accompany the new act.”
