Senators on Tuesday commenced moves to override President Muhammadu Buhari on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill with the collection of signatures.
Twice, the senators went into executive sessions that lasted for about two hours on Tuesday.
Our correspondents reliably gathered from the lawmakers that the move to override the president was hatched during the second session.
A cross-section of senators who attended the sessions said the passage of the 2022 appropriation bill earlier scheduled for Tuesday was suspended, as many of the lawmakers insisted on overriding the president before the passage of the fiscal document.
But there are doubts in many quarters as to whether the senators would succeed in the move to have their way considering that President Buhari enjoys enormous support from many legislators and an undiluted loyalty from the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Buhari had in a letter to the National Assembly, dated December 13, 2021, titled ‘Withholding of assent to Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2021’ withheld his assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, citing economic, security, and legal issues.
While faulting the removal of indirect primaries as contained in Section 87 of the Electoral Act 2010, Buhari said the amendment as proposed violated the underlying spirit of democracy, which is characterised by freedom of choice.
The president also said the amendment would also stifle smaller parties without the enormous resources required to mobilise all their members for the primaries. This, he said was not healthy for the sustenance of multi-party democracy in Nigeria.
