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  • INEC To Hold Extraordinary Meeting Over Implementation Of Electoral Act Amendment Bill

    INEC To Hold Extraordinary Meeting Over Implementation Of Electoral Act Amendment Bill

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will hold an extraordinary meeting on Saturday in a bid to proceed with implementing the provisions guiding the forthcoming election within the new law.

    INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye Esq, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.
    He said the Electoral Act 2022 contains many progressive provisions that will facilitate the conduct of free, fair, and credible elections in Nigeria.

    While explaining that the nation now has the Electoral Act 2022 which replaces the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), the INEC commissioner said together with the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the new Act constitutes the principal law to govern the conduct of future elections, including the 2023 poll.

    Speaking further, Mr Okoye explained that given the tight timelines contained in the new law, the commission fully appreciates the importance of proceeding with their implementation in earnest. Consequently, he disclosed that an extraordinary meeting of INEC is billed for Saturday 26th February 2022. He also noted that thereafter, a statement will be issued on the way forward

  • Electoral Bill: NASS will consider Buhari’s Request To Amend Section 84 (12) – Lawan

    Electoral Bill: NASS will consider Buhari’s Request To Amend Section 84 (12) – Lawan

    President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan, has given an assurance that the National Assembly will look into President Muhammadu Buhari’s request for the amendment of Section 84 (12) in the electoral act which bars political appointees from participating in their parties’ primaries.

    This is as the Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP has commended President Buhari for assenting to the electoral act amendment bill, saying that it will guarantee victory to the opposition political parties.

    Speaking with State House correspondents after the signing of the amended electoral act by President Buhari at the Council Chambers, Presidential Villa, Abuja Friday, the President of the Senate said the National Assembly will be willing to consider the President”s request as soon as a Bill to that effect is brought before them.

    He said, “You know, this is a legitimate request. And that is why commend the president. I will commend him for so many things, but let me also qualify it that even though he had a disagreement with the section, especially clause 84(12), that talks about public political office holders, he still went ahead to sign the bill into law and that is to show his commitment and desire to have an electoral law that will ensure that we have better outcomes when we do election.

    “So we will look at what is he asking for, I hope that they will send the request for the amendment in good time. Because time is of essence, INEC is waiting. And because we don’t want to spill over some of these dates, unnecessarily. We will be expecting a communication from Mr. President with respect to this. And then the National Assembly in both chambers will look into the request for amendment but on the whole I think this is a wonderful development for this administration, for Nigeria, for the evolution and development and growth of democracy in Nigeria.”

    Dr. Lawan said with the Electoral Act in place, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should hit the ground running and ensure that successful elections are conducted in Osun and Ekiti elections this year and the general elections nationwide in 2023.

    According to him, “And for INEC, now you have what you need. INEC, you have to produce the best possible electoral exercise, right from probably the Ekiti and Osun offseason elections. And of course, in the 2013 general elections”.

    Speaking in the same vein, Speaker of House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, stressed that if the provisions of the Act are properly managed by INEC it will mark a watershed in the nation’s election history.

    He said, “I believe it’s a landmark piece of legislation, and has far reaching and I mean, far reaching implications of the provisions contained therein. I can count off head at least 10 to 15 provisions in that electoral law, that if properly executed by INEC, and the people who the laws are made for, it will be a turning point in electoral history of Nigeria. And we will witness, not just by mouthing free, fair and credible elections, but we will actually witness free, fair and credible elections moving forward.”

    Meanwhile, the Nigerian opposition family, the CUPP, has said that it received with extreme joy the news of the signing into law of the amended electoral act by President Buhari.

    A statement issued by Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, CUPP Spokesperson and Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said, “Though delayed and allowing for Nigerians to mount pressure calling for assent to the law, Nigerian opposition coalition is elated that finally Nigeria has a law that will revolutionize our electoral processes.

    “We therefore commend President Muhammadu Buhari for assenting to the Bill thereby creating a new and advanced legal framework for our elections.

    “We also commend the National Assembly for their commitment and effort and ensuring that the law is amended and that there is now legal backing for some of the innovations introduced by INEC.

    “We further commend the Civil Society and indeed Nigerians for not letting go or reducing the pressure on both the National Assembly and the President to sign. They have done Nigeria proud.

    “We also commend the opposition family for holding the government to account on the need to amend the electoral law early enough to allow INEC ample time to implement the law for a free, fair and very credible 2023 general election.

    “We also commend INEC for its contributions and innovations which led to this very robust amendment to the electoral Act. We also remind the Commission that with today’s assent to the Bill, the ball is now squarely in the court of the Commission to begin in earnest to plan for the elections urging them to release the election timetable soonest to ensure stability and certainty in the process and in the polity.

    “Finally we call on all political parties to put their acts together and embrace internal party democracy as this will enable only popular individuals to emerge as candidates of their parties as doing otherwise will lead to their failure as only candidates voted for by Nigerians can now win elections in Nigeria since the 2023 election is highly anticipated to be free, fair and credible.”

  • Electoral bill: Buhari keeps Nigerians in suspense

    Electoral bill: Buhari keeps Nigerians in suspense

    By Joyce Babayeju

    “He should sign latest Friday if nothing else comes up”. –Femi Adesina

    ” let’s wait and see our expectation is that he would assent to the bill”—Yiaga Africa

    There are strong indications that the President Muhammadu Buhari will sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, on Friday.

    Sources in the presidency said the President had been briefed on the amendments and “should sign latest Friday if nothing else comes up”.

    Also, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, had earlier confirmed that the President could sign the bill on Thursday or Friday.

    He gave the hint during an interview with Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme Tuesday.

    Adesina said, “He (Buhari) will sign it (the bill) any moment from now.

    “It could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be anytime, but within the 30 days.

    “It could be signed today; it could be signed tomorrow. In a matter of hours, not days. Hours could be 24 hours, it could be 48 hours; not days, not weeks.”

    On January 31, 2022, the National Assembly transmitted the reworked amendment bill to the President for assent.

    Electoral bill: Buhari’s delay signals tenure elongation plan, PDP alleges
    Buhari consequently forwarded it to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), for legal advice.

    By law, the President is expected to respond to the National Assembly’s proposal not more than 30 days after receiving it.

    Recall that the President has in the last five years rejected electoral amendment bills five times.

    The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, had said last month said the new law was needed to enable the commission release the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 general election.

  • Electoral Bill: Let’s wait for Buhari’s signature, say CSOs

    Electoral Bill: Let’s wait for Buhari’s signature, say CSOs

    By Joyce Babayeju

    A coalition of 26 civil society organisations have declined to speak on report that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), would sign the Electoral Amendment Bill on Friday, saying “no comment for now.”

    While asking the President to sign the Bill, the CSOs said they would open up after being convinced that he would do the needful.

    The coalition had on Tuesday protested against the refusal of the President
    to sign the Electoral Amendment Bill.

    After declaring a national day of protest to demand immediate assent to the reworked Electoral Amendment Bill by the President, the CSOs said the peaceful public direct-action activities was to further the demand for the President’s assent to the Bill.

    But when asked to comment on the report that the Bill would be signed on Friday , the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, said, “Let’s wait and see.”

    He said, “The news suggests that the President will assent to the Bill on Friday. So, we will be waiting to see the action he will take on the Bill and our expectation is that he will assent to the Bill. No comment for now, only to continue to urge him to assent to the Bill.”

    The members of the coalition pushing for the signing of the Electoral Amendment Bill included Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, Yiaga Africa, Partners for Electoral Reform, International Press Centre, Institute for Media and Society, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, The Albino Foundation, Centre for Citizens with Disability, Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism, Labour Civil Society Coalition, Transition Monitoring Group, CLEEN Foundation and Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre.

    Others were Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, Nigeria Network of Non-Governmental Organisations, Inclusive Friends Association, Enough is Enough, The Electoral Hub, Centre for Liberty, Take Back Nigeria Movement, International Peace and Civic Responsibility Centre, 100 Women Lobby Group, Women in Politics Forum, Raising New Voices, Millennials Active Citizenship Advocacy Africa and Ready To Lead Africa.

    On January 31, 2022, the National Assembly transmitted the Electoral Bill 2022 to the President for assent after reworking the Bill.

  • Buhari to sign Electoral bill Friday

    Buhari to sign Electoral bill Friday

    President Muhammadu Buhari has postponed the signing of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

    A source close to the Presidency told Channels Tv that Buhari will assent to the electoral bill on Friday.

    According to the source, Buhari will honour the new date.

    Recall that the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, on Tuesday, said that the President would sign the bill between Tuesday and Wednesday.

    “The President will sign the electoral bill any moment from now.

    “It could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be anytime, but within the 30 days,” Adesina said.

    The President had withheld his assent to the electoral bill in November 2021, citing the cost of conducting direct primary elections, security challenges, and possible manipulation of electoral processes as his reason.

  • Groups Protest At Unity Fountain, Demand Assent To Electoral Bill

    Groups Protest At Unity Fountain, Demand Assent To Electoral Bill

    Groups including civil society organisations under the umbrella of the Situation Room have stormed the Unity Fountain in Abuja for a protest.

    The protesters on Tuesday morning gathered at the Unity Fountain and displayed various placards asking President Muhammadu Buhari to assent the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law.

    Security agencies including the Police and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) were

    The protesters later went on procession towards the National Assembly.

    Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina in an interview on Channels Television, Sunrise Daily said it is just a matter of hours for President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the Bill.

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    Adesina during the interview on Tuesday morning assured that President Buhari will sign the bill any moment from now, “It could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be anytime, but within the 30 days.

    “It could be signed today; it could be signed tomorrow. In a matter of hours, not days. Hours could be 24 hours, it could be 48 hours; not days, not weeks.”

  • Electoral Bill: Nigerians Should Mount Pressure On NASS To Override Buhari – Falana

    Electoral Bill: Nigerians Should Mount Pressure On NASS To Override Buhari – Falana

    Human rights lawyer and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has called on Nigerians to mount pressure on the National Assembly to override President Muhammadu Buhari on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

    Following the refusal of the president to sign the document over the mode of primaries, the National Assembly had on January 31 transmitted the reworked bill to the president for assent.

    The presidency has repeatedly defended the delay in the assent to the electoral bill, saying President Buhari is still consulting with the relevant stakeholders before making his decision known to Nigerians.

    But speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Political Paradigm, Falana said Buhari’s refusal to sign the electoral act amendment bill in the past, as well as his delay in giving assent since receiving the bill over two weeks ago, and the lack of pressure from members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for him to sign, speaks volumes.

    “It is a challenge to all Nigerians. Once the 30-day period expires, the bill goes back to the National Assembly and Nigerians have to mount pressure on the National Assembly to override the veto of the President. We can’t go on like this,” he said.

    Falana said he wouldn’t be surprised if Buhari again refuses to sign the document, accusing the President of not being prepared to reform the nation’s electoral process.

    While noting that the bill has been dragged since 2018, he criticised the ruling APC of failing to tackle rigging of elections, violent polls, inconclusive elections.

    “The ruling party wants the situation to remain hence there is no pressure on the President to sign the electoral bill into law.

    “The party is not prepared to allow the status quo to change. Status quo that promotes rigging of elections, violent elections, inconclusive elections and the tribunalisation of the electoral process.”

  • Presidency Breaks Silence on Delay in Signing Electoral Bill

    Presidency Breaks Silence on Delay in Signing Electoral Bill

    The Presidency on Monday said President Muhammadu Buhari still has more days to decide on signing the amended Electoral Bill into law.

    A statement issued by Mr Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, tackled some groups and individuals accusing the president of being reluctant in assenting to the controversial bill.

    According to Adesina, the Nigerian constitution gives the president the window of 30 days to scrutinize the bill after it has been transmitted by the National Assembly, stressing that Buhari has from now till March 1st to decline or sign the bill into law.

    Reports gathered that after amending the bill, the National Assembly, on January 31, 2022, transmitted it to the executive for signing.

    The statement reads, “Some interest groups are cashing in on what they consider a delay in the signing of the Electoral Bill into law by the President to foment civil disorder and muddy the waters.

    “One can just pity their ignorance of Constitutional requirements, as the President has a window of 30 days within which to sign the Bill, or decline assent after it had been transmitted to him by the National Assembly.

    “A proposed legislation that has to do with the electoral fortunes of the country needs to be thoroughly scrutinized, and be made as near-perfect as possible.

    “Those playing cheap politics with it are, therefore, encouraged to hold their peace, knowing that the right thing will be done within the lawful time”.

  • HURIWA knocks Buhari over refusal to sign electoral bill

    HURIWA knocks Buhari over refusal to sign electoral bill

    By Joyce Babayeju

    Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, on Sunday, flayed the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), over his reluctance in signing the reworked Electoral Act Amendment Bill, saying his intentions are not nationalistic and patriotic but self-serving.

    HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said the intransigence and refusal of the President to sign the Electoral Act is as bad as the military coups in Guinea Bissau, Mali and other West African countries.

    The group, while condemning the President for globetrotting when a critical task lay at his table, said Buhari’s refusal to sign the Electoral Act is a calculated attempt to undermine and sabotage the transparent conduct of the 2023 general election.

    Buhari had in December 2021 asked the National Assembly to remove the clause that has to do with direct primaries from the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

    The President, who stated this in his letter to the Senate, asked the National Assembly to remove the controversial clause on direct primaries from the bill and return the proposed law to him for assent.

    On January 31 2022, the National Assembly transmitted the reworked bill to the President for assent.

    Buhari consequently forwarded it to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), for legal advice.

    Malami had hinted that he might advise the President to withhold assent if he (Malami) found the reworked bill to contain proposals hinged on personal interests.

    The President has not shown any significant sign of signing the reworked bill 20 days after it was transmitted to him by the National Assembly.

    By law, the President is expected to respond to the National Assembly’s proposal not more than 30 days after receiving it.

    The bill was transmitted to him on January 31, 2022, meaning he has barely 10 days left to act on it. The President has in the last five years rejected electoral amendment bills five times.

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, had said last month that the commission would quickly release the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 general elections based on the new law once the bill is signed by the President.

    Commenting on the development, HURIWA National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said the body language of the President on the assent of the Electoral Act betrays his many rhetoric that he will leave a legacy of democratic values and tenets in Nigeria when he leaves office in 2023.

    Onwubiko described the President’s delayed assent as “an attempt to destabilise democracy because constitutional democracy runs seamlessly in an atmosphere of certainty and legality.”

    He added, “But what President Muhammadu Buhari has done with his blatant failure to sign the Electoral Act is to put democracy in jeopardy and make it seem that the country isn’t ripe for free and fair polls just as his refusal offends the heart of the constitutional independence of the legislature and endangers the principles of checks and balances enshrined in the constitution.

    “Already, no fewer than 26 civil society organisations have resolved to embark on a protest on Tuesday if the President fails to assent to the bill in two days. The President must sign the Electoral Act immediately or Nigerians should consider civil disobedience actions like street protests to compel the President not to jeopardise next year’s election.”

  • Electoral Bill: 26 Civil Society groups declare February 22 National Day of Protest

    Electoral Bill: 26 Civil Society groups declare February 22 National Day of Protest

    AS Nigerians become anxious about the electoral process ahead of 2023 general elections, 26 Civil Society groups, Saturday, declared February 22, 2022 National Day of Protest following delay by President Muhammadu Buhari to assent the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

    The 26 CSOs include Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room; Yiaga Africa; Partners for Electoral Reform (PER); International Press Centre; Institute for Media and Society; Nigerian Women Trust Fund; The Albino Foundation; Centre for Citizens with Disability; Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ); Labour Civil Society Coalition (LASCO); Transition Monitoring Group; CLEEN Foundation; Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC); Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC); Nigeria Network of Non-Governmental Organizations (NNNGO); Inclusive Friends Association (IFA); Enough is Enough; The Electoral Hub; Centre for Liberty; Take Back Nigeria Movement; International Peace and Civic Responsibility Centre (IPCRC); 100 Women Lobby Group; Women in Politics Forum; Raising New Voices; Millennials Active Citizenship Advocacy Africa; and Ready To Lead Africa.

    In a statement the groups also gave next week Tuesday as ultimatum for Buhari to sign the Bill based on dates announced for the 2023 elections, and if they are to be maintained.

    They also pointed that the delay by Buhari to assent to the Electoral Bill will create legal uncertainties that will threaten the integrity of the off-cycle elections in Ekiti, Osun, and the 2023 general election.

    It will be recalled that on Friday, 23 CSOs expressed pain over the attitude expressed by the President on assenting to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, saying on five occasions the President has refused assent to the Bill in the last five years, but now enough is enough, hence the nationwide protest and ultimatum to sign the Bill on or before next week Tuesday.

    The statement reads in part, “Aware that on the 31st January 2022, the National Assembly transmitted the Electoral Bill 2022 to the President for assent after expeditiously reworking the bill to meet the President’s expectations.

    “Also, aware the bill allows electronic transmission of results, strengthens INEC’s financial independence and empower the commission to reject falsified election results.

    “Further aware, the bill, when signed, requires INEC to issue Notice of Election not later than 360 days before the day appointed for an election. Therefore, the President has to give assent to the bill on or before 22nd February 2022 if the dates announced for the 2023 elections are to be maintained.

    Concerned that the delay in granting presidential assent to the Electoral Bill, 2022 will create legal uncertainties that threaten the integrity of the off-cycle elections in Ekiti, Osun, and the 2023 general election, which is 366 days away.

    “The civil society community resolves to declare Tuesday, 22nd February 2022, as the National Day of Protest to demand immediate assent to the bill. Civil society networks will organize peaceful public direct-action activities to further the demand to assent the bill. We urge citizens across the nation to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to act on this matter of urgent national importance.”