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  • Buhari Unwilling To Sign Electoral Bill, Says PDP Governors

    Buhari Unwilling To Sign Electoral Bill, Says PDP Governors

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors on Monday said President Muhammadu Buhari is unwilling to sign 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 had on February 10 said President Buhari is desirous to assent to the bill and is still consulting with critical stakeholders on whether to sign the electoral act amendment bill or not.

    Buh the PDP governors in a communique issued after their meeting which was held in Bayelsa State asked Buhari to sign the document.

    READ ALSO: NASS Passes Harmonised Electoral Bill With Direct, Indirect, Consensus Modes Of Primaries

    “The PDP Governors urged Mr President to immediately sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law,” the communique signed by the 11 governors read.

    “Waiting to run out the 30 days is yet another sign of unwillingness by Mr President to give Nigeria a reformed Electoral framework. If there are still misgivings on any aspect of the Bill Amendments may be introduced at a later stage.”

    They also reacted to the just concluded polls in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), congratulating their party for the victory recorded in 43 out of 62 Councillorship positions in Abuja.

    In spite of improvements in the conduct of elections, the governors noted that Gwagwalada and Abuja Area Council results show that manipulations are still possible.

    They, therefore, urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to tighten all observed loopholes and further improve on the functioning of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BIVAS) machine for future elections.

  • Electoral bill: NASS tackles Malami over ‘self-interest’ comment

    Electoral bill: NASS tackles Malami over ‘self-interest’ comment

    The National Assembly, on Thursday, dismissed a threat by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), that he would oppose the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, if it was based on selfish interest.

    The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Ajibola Basiru, specifically dismissed Malami as a political appointee, who could not speak for the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on institutional matters like the bill.

    Basiru was reacting to a recent interview granted by Malami in which the minister said Buhari would not assent to the reworked bill, if its provisions were considered to be of selfish interest.

    The AGF had hinted that Buhari might withhold assent from the bill, if it was considered to have proposed laws based on personal interests.

    According to the minister, the bill, which the National Assembly transmitted to the Presidency the second time on Monday last week, just got to him on Monday for legal advice.

    When asked if he would advise the President to reject the amended bill if he was not satisfied with the new version, Malami said, “Certainly, if I am not satisfied and if I am of the opinion that it is against the public interest, the national interest; and then against the dictates of democratic process, I would advise accordingly.

    “But then, one thing I can tell you is that we are all interested in leaving behind a legacy of a lasting democracy; a democracy that indeed accommodates the collective interest of the Nigerian state, and eventually advances the national interest, national development and deepens the democratic process.

    “So, with these considerations associated with deepening democracy; with the considerations associated with the national and public interest, we will certainly do whatever it takes to move democracy to the next level.”

    Responding in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Wednesday, Basiru said, “I cannot be responding to Malami. Let the President talk and we will respond (to Buhari). I represent an institution, which is the National Assembly. We are not on the same par. If the President speaks, then we can respond as an institution.

    “There are three arms of government: the executive headed by the President; the National Assembly (legislature), and the judiciary. I speak on behalf of the Senate, which is an institution, so I can’t be responding to an appointee of the President; I can’t be responding to Malami. We can only respond to correspondence from the President and authenticated by him (Buhari); we cannot be responding to an appointee of the President. We are an institution.”

    Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu, in his response, said the minister might need to define what he meant by ‘selfish interest’. According to him, the parliament was guided by national interest in the consideration and passage of the bill.

    Kalu said, “I don’t know his definition of ‘selfish interest’, of course, it is not a tool in making laws for the country. But public interest is the instrument used in making laws, not selfish interest. And the only way that you can measure public interest is through the steps outlined by our laws, one of which is public hearing or stakeholders’ engagement.

    “Another one is consensus or majority opinion of the parliament on an issue, reflective of the opinion of the people that they (lawmakers) represent. If the majority of those in the parliament are for a particular position, it means that those who have asked them (lawmakers) to represent them are speaking with one voice. That is how you measure public interest.”

    The House’ spokesman also stated that the opinions and interests of the Independent National Electoral Commission, political parties, governors, civil society organisations and other public stakeholders in the bill could not have been considered to be selfish.

    A senior official in the National Assembly, who spoke on condition of anonymity, corroborated the Senate’s spokesman, saying, “If he, as an appointee of the President, made an observation, until that observation is formalised by the institution that he represents, which is the Presidency, we cannot give much attention to it until it comes from the institution.”

    The source added, “If Mr. President finds out that there is an element of selfish interest, he will communicate that to us and we will look at it. Not that Malami will tell us, the President will communicate directly to us.”

    It was reported in December that the President had rejected the last electoral bill mainly on the advice of Malami.

    Recently, there were reports that some members of the cabal in the Presidency were opposed to some provisions of the bill.

    According to the reports, they are not comfortable with the provision which mandates appointees to resign before the primaries of their parties.

    Both the Senate and the House of Representatives had reworked the electoral bill for the second time by concurring on consensus candidacy and setting fresh conditions for political parties in the nomination of candidates for elections.

    Buhari, last year, had vetoed the electoral bill and sent it back to the National Assembly over the restriction of political parties to direct primary, insisting on the direct or indirect.

    The House had amended Clause Section 87 of the Electoral Act 2010, which is Clause 84 of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, by inserting the indirect primary option.

    The Senate, however, not only added indirect primary, but also consensus adoption of candidates for elections by a political party.

    By passing different amendments to the bill, the Senate and the House were expected to refer the versions to a conference committee to harmonise the differences and report back for final passage and transmission to the President for assent.

    However, both the Senate and the House of Representatives took a shorter route by rescinding their decisions on the amendments last week and re-amending the electoral bill.

    This time, the House concurred with the Senate on the consensus, while both chambers passed the same conditions set for the option.

    The President had said in his interview with Channels TV on January 5, 2022, that he would sign the bill once the mandatory direct primary clause was removed.

  • Electoral Bill: INEC, stakeholders decry delayed assent

    Electoral Bill: INEC, stakeholders decry delayed assent

    There are strong indications that President Muhammadu Buhari is in a dilemma over whether to assent to the just re – amended 2010 Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2022 11 days after receiving the bill from the National Assembly.

    The Presidency disclosed yesterday that President Buhari is in a last minute consultation with critical stakeholders as he races against time to take a decision on the bill.

    The House of Representatives also said yesterday there was no selfish interest in the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law by the National Assembly.

    Speaking in Abuja at the one-day Policy Dialogue organized by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, NILDS, in collaboration with West Minister Foundation for Democracy, WFD, Senior Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Babajide Omoworare, said that he has it on good authority that Buhari is vigorously meeting with the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and other key stakeholders on the Electoral bill.

    According to Omoworare, the consultation with Malami and other stakeholders is among others to design a way forward on the Bill.

    The Presidential aide, however, noted that Buhari is inclined to signing the reworked document this time around especially as all the grey areas he raised in the rejected Electoral Act Amendment Bill (2021) has been attended to by the National Assembly.

    Omoworare’s assurances that Buhari would sign the document before the expiration of 30 days allowed by law was, however, not enough to douse anxieties among various discussants at the policy dialogue.

    He said: “A very crucial consultation is going on between Mr President, the Attorney General and other critical stakeholders on content of the bill for the required assent.

    “If not for this programme, I suppose to be at the very important meeting, believed to be the major determinant for the fate of the bill.”

    Omoworare assured Nigerians that the bill will most likely be assented to by the President since issues earlier raised by him in the 2021 edition were elaborately addressed by both chambers of the National Assembly, last month.

    He said:” Personally, I think in a few days time, Mr President will do the needful since the most contentious aspect of the bill had been addressed in the reworked one transmitted to him on Monday, January 31, 2022. Time as it is, is of essence but I believe that Mr President will do the needful.”

    The assurance given by Omoworare was not enough to douse apprehension entertained by conveners of the dialogue who received message from the Attorney – General that his planned consultation with President Buhari prevented him from coming.

    Giving credence to Omoworare’s statement that Buhari is in high consultation, the organizers said the Attorney General had graciously asked to be excused from the public conversation as he was still consulting with the President on the matter.

    Almost all the discussants at the policy dialogue from the former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission , Professor Attahiru Jega , Country Representative of Westminster Foundation for Democracy, Adebowale Olorunmola and the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Media, Mr. Benjamin Kalu, appealed to President Buhari to assent the bill without further delay.

    Former Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, was not particularly impressed at the seeming delay on the part of the President to sign the Electoral bill 11 days after receiving the document from the National Assembly.

    Even more displeasing to the former INEC boss is what he described as a growing lack of sense of urgency by both the executive and the legislature to complete work on the Electoral Bill.

    According to him, Nigeria cannot continue to dilly-dally much further on the Electoral bill and go into fresh elections in 2023 with the same old laws, adding that no law or legislation is perfect but what is available now is good and manageable for the coming elections.

    On his part, the INEC Chairman, Professor Yakubu Mahmood said that the snail pace of work on the Electoral bill was beginning to have a toll on INEC’s preparation for the general elections next February.

    The INEC chairman, who was represented by his Chief Technical Adviser, Professor, Bolade Eyinla, said with the new Electoral law still being awaited; the commission has not been able to come up with clear cut guidelines for the conduct of the elections.

    He said that INEC and not the Executive or the National Assembly should initiate proposed amendments to the Electoral laws as being practiced in neighbouring Ghana.

    Professor Bolade Eyinla said that to avoid the problem of working on electoral laws at the tail end of conducting elections, INEC should be allowed to drive the process as being done in Ghana.

    He lamented: “The situation at hand now is that roughly a year to general election, the anticipated laws are not yet approved, meaning that the extant one will be used aside the fact that the process has not enabled INEC to come up with clear cut guidelines for conduct of the elections.”

    Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has said there was no selfish interest in the passage of the electoral act amendment bill into law by the national assembly.

    Rather, it said its activities and actions had always been guided by public interest and the need to deepen the tenets of democracy.

    The House spoke through its spokesman, Hon. Benjamin Kalu during a press briefing after yesterday’s plenary.

    It will be recalled that the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, Abubarkar Malami, SAN, in a recent interview with a national television station, hinted of sifting the bill against selfish interests.

    But the House spokesman said: “The scope of the operation of the procedures are well documented in the Constitution as well as the House rules. And there is no where in the Constitution and the House rules where selfish interest is allowed as an instrument to be used in the process of lawmaking.

    ”Rather, in place of selfish interest is public interest. And that’s why to advance that particular aspect, the Constitution and House rules made provision for public hearing, for stakeholders engagement, for memorandum to be sent in, for presentation to be made for town halls.”

  • 2023: Buhari Consulting On Electoral Bill, Says Presidency

    2023: Buhari Consulting On Electoral Bill, Says Presidency

    The presidency has said that President Muhammadu Buhari is desirous to assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021.

    The Senior Special Assistant National Assembly Matters (Senate), Babajide Omoworare, stated this on Thursday at a dialogue on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, organized by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies in Abuja.

    Speaking on the policy dialogue centred on ‘Electoral Bill 2021 and Quest for Presidential Assent: Matters Arising,’ Omoworare said his principal is still consulting with critical stakeholders on whether to sign the electoral act amendment bill or not.

    While noting that Buhari is aware of the constitutional time constraint for assent to the bill, he explained that Section 58 of the Constitution has given the president a 30-day time frame to sign the document.

    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.

    “Consultations are going on and we are aware that despite the fact that the President needs 30 days under Section 58 within which to sign, the President is desirous of signing it, otherwise I don’t know,” the presidential aide said.

    “I can’t speak for him now. It is going to be as a result of the consultations whether he signs or not, but we know we have time constraint.”

    In his remarks, a former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, said a good law was necessary for electoral integrity.

    Jega picked holes in the bill, especially the provisions for campaign financing by presidential candidates.

    “There is a good fundamental democratic principle. Candidates for presidency spending N5 billion and governors spending N1 billion for elections is a very bad law,” he said.

    “To my mind, it is just one aspect out of the many good things that are in that bill. Whether you do direct or indirect primaries, it does not matter so long as political parties are not democratic.

    “If there is no internal party democracy, whether you do direct or indirect primaries, they will still manipulate it and the outcome will still not be favourable to the people.”

    The bill is considered critical to the 2023 general elections and stakeholders are hoping that the president signs the bill in good time for the polls.

  • Buhari may reject amended Electoral Bill

    Buhari may reject amended Electoral Bill

    By Joyce Babayeju

    President Muhammadu Buhari is under pressure to reject the reworked Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2022, it was learnt yesterday.

    Sources said those pushing against presidential assent to the bill anchor their argument on “certain anti-democratic and discriminatory clauses”.

    But, if signed and it becomes law, political parties will be expected to submit the names of their presidential candidates by August 18 — six months before the date of the presidential election.

    According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) timetable, the presidential election will hold on February 18, 2023.

    Going by the provision of the reworked bill, on the date of submission of names of candidates, primaries for National Assembly, governorship and presidential candidates will hold between July and mid-August.

    A source said: “The President may still reject the bill because of ‘vendetta and anti-democratic clauses’ in the reworked Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2022.

    “We may end up using the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) for the 2023 general election because of strange clauses.

    “For instance, it is illegal to exclude political office holders from primaries. By implication, ministers, commissioners and others cannot participate in the electoral process.

    “Also, the nation does not have the wherewithal for the use of the electronic voting machine. Most politicians in the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are uncomfortable with it.”

    He added: “The consensus clause is cumbersome and an attempt to hit back at state governors who used to impose candidates. So, we should expect a likely rejection of the bill by the President.”

    Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami (SAN) said he received the reworked bill sent to him by the President for his advice, on Monday. He said he would propose to the President to sign the bill if the content is in the national interest.

    According to other provisions in the bill, the electoral commission may use an electronic voting machine or any other voting device for the election.

    Ministers, commissioners and other political appointees are barred from serving as poll agents during the election.

    Besides, no political appointee at any level, be it a minister, commissioner or board chairman, can vote or be voted for during primaries.

    They are mandated to resign before the primaries of their parties.

    The election expenses for elective offices are pegged as follows: presidential, N5billion; governorship, N1billion; Senate and House of Representatives, N100million and N70million; House of Assembly, N30million; chairmanship election into an area council, N30million; and councillorship, N5million.

    No individual or other entity shall donate to a candidate more than N50million.

    Read Also: CNPP to Buhari: Sign re-amended Electoral Bill
    Section 29 (1-3) of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2022 is explicit on the deadline for the submission of the list of candidates.

    The section says: “Every political party shall, not later than 180 days before the date appointed for a general election under this Act, submit to the Commission, in the prescribed forms, the list of the candidates the party proposes to sponsor at the elections, who must have emerged from valid primaries conducted by the political party.

    “The list or information submitted by each candidate shall be accompanied by an affidavit sworn to by the candidate at the Federal High Court, High Court of a state, or Federal Capital Territory, indicating that he or she has fulfilled all the constitutional requirements for election into that office.

    “The Commission shall, within seven days of the receipt of the personal particulars of the candidate, publish same in the constituency where the candidate intends to contest the election.”

    Regarding mode of primaries, Section 84 (1) recommends: “A political party seeking to nominate candidates for elections under this Act shall hold primaries for aspirants to all elective positions, which shall be monitored by the Commission.

    “(2) The procedure for the nomination of candidates by political parties for the various elective positions shall be by direct, indirect primaries or consensus.”

    The conditions for consensus are as follows:

    A political party that adopts a consensus candidate shall secure the written consent of all cleared aspirants for the position, indicating their voluntary withdrawal from the race and their endorsement of the consensus candidate.
    Where a political party is unable to secure the written consent of all cleared aspirants for the purpose of a consensus candidate, it shall revert to the choice of direct or indirect primaries for the nomination of candidates for the aforesaid elective positions.
    A special convention or nomination congress shall be held to ratify the choice of consensus candidates at designated centres at the national, state, senatorial, federal and state constituencies, as the case may be.
    Section 84(10-13) limits courts from either stopping party primaries or elections from holding.

    The section prevents political office holders at any level from participating or contesting for nomination into any elective office during primaries at the national convention or state congress.

    It claims: “No political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the convention or congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.”

  • Electoral Bill: Govs, Lawmakers Clash Over New Clauses

    Electoral Bill: Govs, Lawmakers Clash Over New Clauses

    The clash between governors and federal lawmakers over two new clauses may affect the signing of the re-amended electoral bill, Daily Trust reports.

    The National Assembly had on Monday transmitted the re-amended electoral bill to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent after addressing the reservations expressed on the previous amendments made to the electoral act.

    The president had last year withheld his assent over the provision of direct primaries as the sole mode for political parties to select their candidates for elections. In the reworked bill, the lawmakers provided three options; direct, indirect and consensus. They also introduced two clauses, which have opened another round of power play.

    Daily Trust reports that like the previous amendments, the governors are allegedly all out to thwart the assent to the latest bill.

    The contentious clauses

    The bill in Section 84(9) (a) provides that, “A political party that adopts a consensus candidate shall secure the written consent of all cleared aspirants for the position, indicating their voluntary withdrawal from the race and their endorsement of the consensus candidate.”

    It goes further in paragraph (b) to say that, “Where a political party is unable to secure the written consent of all cleared aspirants for the purpose of a consensus candidate, it shall revert to the choice of direct or indirect primaries for the nomination of candidates for the aforesaid elective positions.”

    The bill states in paragraph (c) that, “A special convention or nomination congress shall be held to ratify the choice of consensus candidates at designated centres at the national, state, senatorial, federal and state constituencies, as the case may be.”

    The second contentious clause in the re-amended bill provides that all political office holders at the state and federal levels should resign before the primary election for any elective office they are seeking.

    Why some govs are not comfortable

    Some sources with knowledge of happenings at the Villa and the National Assembly told one of our correspondents that some of the 36 state governors saw the ‘improved electoral act’ submitted to President Buhari as a booby trap set up by legislators to whittle down their influence ahead of the general elections.

    “They are not satisfied with the clauses on consensus candidature and the one asking political appointees to resign before the primary election of political parties,” one of the sources said.

    “Some of the governors are in cohort with some political appointees like ministers and heads of some agencies and all of them belief in one thing- to guarantee their personal interests and something that will favour their cronies at the end of the day. It is about controlling the instruments of power and the electoral act is one of them.

    “If you ask all aspirants to sign a letter of commitment before using the consensus option for primaries, or sign a commitment after someone emerged, one or two of them may not sign provided that they know they are popular but not in the good books of the governor.

    “Also, if you ask some ministers and heads of juicy agencies to resign some months to primary elections, they know that they would be stripped of some powers and resources at their disposal. They are also not sure if they would be reappointed.

    “So, this is basically the reason for the move by these people to discourage the president from signing the electoral act,” he said.

    Another source said President Muhammadu Buhari has to weigh all options in order to get it right.

    “The election is fast approaching…There are some governors and elected officials who want to take advantage of the present confusion to remain in absolute control of what is going to happen.

    “Also, there are some legislators who were all out to tackle the governors. They too, it’s just for their selfish interest. Remember over 70 per cent of senators or members of the House of Representatives rarely go back after each election season.

    “So, some of them want to reverse the trend, which they feel the governors are responsible. My prayer is that President Buhari will take a decision that will favour the generality of Nigerians,” he said.

    Daily Trust could not get the response of the governors on why they are not comfortable with the two new clauses.

    ‘Sign bill now’

    The National Assembly Caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on President Buhari to assent to the re-amended Electoral Bill transmitted to him.

    The PDP lawmakers made the call on Tuesday during their caucus meeting with members of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the party at the National Assembly, Abuja.

    The Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, said having bent backwards as requested by President Muhammadu Buhari on the earlier rejected electoral bill, the proposed law should be signed without any delay.

    Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu alleged that APC governors were lobbying the president not to sign the bill.

    He, however, urged President Buhari not to yield to the request of the governors but to sign the bill owing to its importance to strengthening the country’s electoral process.

    What APC lawmakers discussed

    Meanwhile, senators who are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus declined to comment on the outcome of their caucus meeting, which lasted for about two hours behind closed doors.

    Senate President Ahmad Lawan, his deputy, Ovie Omo-Agege, Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi, other principal officers belonging to the party and many others attended the emergency meeting, which commenced by 2.30pm and ended at 4.30pm.

    The meeting held simultaneously with that of the PDP National Assembly caucus with its Board of Trustees (BoT) members led by Walid Jibrin.

    While the PDP’s meeting was held in the presence of the media, APC lawmakers declined to comment on the outcome of their meeting when approached by newsmen.

    But a former governor, who is a ranking lawmaker, told Daily Trust that the issue of the electoral bill was a done deal, hence it was not discussed at the meeting.

    He said their closed doors meeting was to discuss the forthcoming convention of the party and the crisis rocking the party.

    “We met to review the crisis rocking our party and the forthcoming convention. We don’t want our party to explode after the convention. It was resolved that the crisis rocking our state chapters be resolved before the convention,” he said.

    Asked why two clauses were introduced, he said they added them to enhance the electoral process of the country.

    “Yes, we included the clauses because we are lawmakers and we have the constitutional rights to make or amend laws that would be in the best interests.

    “Previously, the consensus was done to favour the governors but now we have amended the clauses to favour all,” he said.

    He expressed optimism that President Buhari will assent the bill, saying we have addressed the reservations expressed by him.

    Another Senator told Daily Trust that it was Senator Yusuf Yusuf (APC, Taraba), who is representing the Senate in the Buni-caretaker committee that briefed them on the activities of the committee.

    “He briefed us on what is happening in the party and the forthcoming convention. We took turns to lament the lingering crisis in some of our state chapters. We did not discuss the electoral bill,” he said, insisting that it was purely party issues that were discussed.

    ‘Level playing ground for all’

    Reacting, Professor Kamilu Sani Fage, a renowned political scientist, observed that the two clauses are important innovations and President Buhari should not succumb to pressure from governors or any other political appointees to circumvent the wish and aspiration of the masses.

    He said the clause that says ministers and all other appointees must resign before contesting for primaries is very important because it will sanitise the country’s election process.

    Prof Fage, who is of the Department of Political Science in Bayero University, Kano, said the president should sign the bill.

    “He should not accept or go down to the pressure of political appointees. After all, they are representing Nigerians; so, if they are true democrats, they should accept the aspirations and verdicts of Nigerians rather than use their own power to tinker or change the provisions and the will of Nigerians.”

    ‘Consensus again?’

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Professor Paul Ananaba, has questioned the inclusion of the clause on consensus in the amended Electoral Act, adding that it would cause a violation of rights.

    He said the nomination of political parties’ candidates is an internal affair of the party, which cannot be legislated upon by the National Assembly or the judiciary.

    “Does the law also state how a person can withdraw consent?” he asked. Ananaba said the consensus is not wrong if it is not imposed but is by consent.

    Malami Reacts

    Amid allegations that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami (SAN) will influence the decision of the president on the electoral bill, his office explained that Malami has no business “pressuring” President Muhammadu Buhari to reject the Amended Electoral Act retransmitted to him.

    Speaking to Daily Trust, media aide to the minister, Dr Umar Gwandu said the minister does his functions in accordance with the dictates of the law, adding that “his role as contained in extant laws does not include “mounting pressure on the president.”

    According to him, “The president is an executive president with all the powers vested in him by the constitution and extant laws,” he said.

    He said the president and members of the cabinet, including the AGF act in the public interest.

    “It does not sync with common sense to assume that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) would mount pressure on the president,” he said.

    By Ismail Mudashir, Abdullateef Salau, Balarabe Alkassim, John C. Azu (Abuja) & Clement A. Oloyede (Kano)

  • NASS Transmits Re-Amended Electoral Bill To Buhari For Assent

    NASS Transmits Re-Amended Electoral Bill To Buhari For Assent

    The National Assembly has transmitted the re-amended Electoral Act Amendment Bill to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.

    President Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on NASS Matters (Senate), Senator Babajide Omoworare, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.

    He explained that the transmission of the bill was in line with the provisions of Section 58 (3) of the 1999 Constitution and the Acts Authentication Act Cap. A2 LFN 2004.

    Omoworare stated that the Clerk to the National Assembly, Olatunde Ojo, transmitted the authenticated copies of the bill to the President on Monday.

    “The Clerk to the National Assembly Mr Olatunde Amos Ojo has transmitted the authenticated copies of the Electoral Bill 2022 to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari GCFR on 31st January 2022,” he said.

    “This was done in accordance with the provisions of Section 58 (3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the Acts Authentication Act Cap. A2 LFN 2004.

    “Mr. President had withheld assent to the Electoral Bill 2021 transmitted to him on 19th November 2021. The Electoral Bill was thereafter reworked by the National Assembly and both the Senate and the House of Representatives passed same on 25th January 2022.”

    This comes a week after lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives passed the harmonised version of the bill.

    President Buhari had withheld his assent to the bill in November last year, citing the cost of conducting direct primary elections, security challenges, and possible manipulation of electoral processes by political actors as part of the reasons for his decision.

    While he gave the conditions to give his assent, the lawmakers went on to rework the bill which initially led to the emergence of two versions from the green and red chambers of the assembly.

    While the House re-amended the bill to include the direct and indirect primary options, the Senate re-adjusted to include the direct, indirect, and consensus modes of selecting political parties’ candidates.

    On Tuesday last week, lawmakers in the two chambers passed the harmonised version of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill – the final agreed version of the amendment to Clause 84 of the bill.

    This bill included the direct, indirect, and consensus primary modes of nominating candidates by political parties for elections.

  • CSO commends NASS for removing controversial clause in electoral bill

    CSO commends NASS for removing controversial clause in electoral bill

    A civil society organization Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate (CPPM) has commended members of both chambers of the national assembly for doing the needful in removing the controversial clause 87 of the electoral bill which made direct election the sole method of political parties primary and reviewing it to accommodate other options of indirect election and consensus as the members of a political party so decides.

    In a press release issued by the executive chairman of the organization Nelson Ekujumi in Lagos today Thursday 20th January 2022, he stated “We recall that our voice at CPPM was one of the very few loud ones that commended and congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari for his patriotism and statesmanship in declining assent to the electoral bill due to the controversial clause which to us apart from the logical and rational reasons adduced by Mr. President, was dictatorial, obnoxious, undemocratic and an assault on the internal democratic rights of the parties”.

    According to Nelson Ekujumi, CPPM is also very glad to note that President Muhammadu Buhari who has always and indisputably put the collective interest of Nigerians first and foremost on all issues, did not buckle to the campaign of blackmail and calumny by agents of destabilization who went all out to incite and sow seed of discord even before Mr. President declined assent to the bill of which the controversial clause was motivated by self interest as against national interest by the legislators.

    But today, same persons, interest and groups masquerading as fighting for the masses but whose interest is about politics of hate and division, are all out congratulating the legislators for doing the right thing of reviewing the controversial clause to meet with the observations raised by Mr. President in his correspondence with the national assembly and are now saying the legislators have done the right, logical and rational thing, which makes one to wonder, why the double speak so sudden, but we hope Nigerians are taking note of these persons and groups for what they stand for?

    The group then called on the national assembly to harmonize their positions to reflect the rights of the parties to internally and democratically choose their candidates either through direct or indirect election or consensus because, “We have noted that while the Senate amendment accommodated direct, indirect election and consensus, that of the house of representatives only recognized direct and indirect election”.

    CPPM admonished the national assembly to as soon as possible harmonize the bill appropriately and send it back to Mr President for assent in order to deepen our democracy.

  • 2023: We’ll withhold timetable till electoral bill is signed into law – INEC

    2023: We’ll withhold timetable till electoral bill is signed into law – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will withhold timetable for the 2023 general election pending when the Electoral Act amendment bill is passed into law.

    This was disclosed on Tuesday by the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, at the first quarterly meeting with political parties for 2022 in Abuja.

    According to him, the commission was looking forward to a speedy passage of the bill before it will release the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the much-anticipated elections.

    He said, “On the Electoral Amendment Bill currently before the National Assembly, the commission is encouraged by the Senate President’s assurance to give priority attention to the Bill when the National Assembly reconvenes from its recess today, and the commitment by the President to assent to the Bill as soon as the issue of mode of primaries by political parties is resolved.

    “We are looking forward to a speedy passage of the Bill, which is crucial to our preparations for the forthcoming elections. As soon as it is signed into law, the commission will quickly release the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 General Election which will be based on the new law”.

    Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had rejected the bill following the inclusion of compulsory direct primaries for political parties.

    Returning the bill to the National Assembly, the President pointed out that the present state of the country would not be fit for compulsory direct primary elections, demanding its removal from the bill.

  • Why Electoral Bill Should Be Passed Immediately – Jega

    Why Electoral Bill Should Be Passed Immediately – Jega

    Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, has urged the National Assembly and President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately pass the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021.

    According to him, the passage of the bill will go a long way in improving the integrity of Nigeria’s elections.

    The former INEC Chairman, therefore, asked the government to do everything possible to ensure that the country goes into the next election with a new bill.

    “This country will be better off if we go into the next election with a new electoral law which will enhance the integrity of the preparations and conduct of the elections,” he said during a Townhall on the Electoral bill on Sunday.

    While the debate over the choice of direct and indirect mode of primaries still lingers, Professor Jega noted that the bill contains a lot of new amendments that are crucial to the integrity of the electoral process and he believes that should be the primary focus.

    36 recommendations had been made for the bill by INEC to the National Assembly; 31 of which were approved with little to no amendments.

    According to Jega, the amendments are the first in the last 12 years, and withholding assent to the bill, over a clause, would, therefore, be detrimental to INEC’s ability to adequately prepare for coming elections.

    “A good legal framework helps to create elections with integrity and electoral integrity helps to enhance democratic consolidation and the preparation and conduct of elections democratically.

    “Since 2010, we have not had substantive improvements in the electoral legal framework until now and clearly, the bill contains quite a lot of substantive improvements, so we must do everything possible to ensure that we go into the next election with a new bill.

    “We already have some fundamental elements that can improve the integrity of the elections, let this be passed immediately, drop this issue of direct primaries, think more seriously about it. It is good, it should be done but if we proceed to do it the way we are trying to do it now, we are likely to create more problems than it will solve,” he said.

    President Buhari had declined assent to the bill in December 2021, citing the cost of conducting direct primary elections, security challenges, and possible manipulation of electoral processes by political actors as part of the reasons for his decision.

    But in a recent interview with Channels Television, he noted that for him to accent to the Bill, changes must be made to include the addition of consensus candidates, indirect primary options to the mode of selecting a candidate for an election, as against the initial direct mode as the only option to conduct primaries by political parties.

    “There should be options, you can’t dictate to people and say you are doing democracy. Give them other options so they can make a choice,” he said.