Electoral Bill: Group Asks NASS To Overide Buhari

By Uche Mbah

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center, SCLAC, a coalition of some Civil Society groups, Tuesday, December 21, 2021, requested that the National Assembly override the decision of the President, Muhammadu Buhari, who  withheld assent to the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill.

In a statement titled ‘Electoral Bill: NASS Cannot Afford To Disappoint Nigerians’ the group decried Buhari’s refusal to sign the Act into law, urging the National Assembly to over-ride him.

“In furtherance to this, we strongly urge the National Assembly to veto the president on this matter,” the statement read in part.

President Buhari had sent back the bill to the National Assembly pointing out the provision about Direct Primaries as point of disagreement with NASS, saying that for him to sign it into law, that portion must be expunged.”

NASS had recommended Direct Primaries as mandatory for all Political Parties choosing their flag bearers, while Buhari says it is the prerogative of the parties to decide how they choose their flag bearers.

But critics of the government are sceptical that without Direct Primaries, the election will be open to manipulations.

This followed the expiration of the 30-day window within which the President is expected to append his signatures  to the bill.

That window closed Sunday, 20th December 2021 from November 19, 2021, when it was transmitted to the President after being passed by both chambers.

Buhari replied NASS a day after the expiration of the window, making it technically a law.

The statement, signed by the Executive Director of the group, Auwal Musa ( Rafsanjani), said the bill will “increase transparency in our electoral process, encourage citizens to participate in the process as aspirants and voters, as well as help improve the ideology of our elections by reducing the reliance on dirty money.

“We, therefore, call on the 9th Assembly to etch its name in gold in the right pages of our history by exercising its powers under S. 58 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended) which states, ‘where the President withholds his assent and the bill is again passed by each House by two-thirds majority, the bill shall become law and the assent of the President shall not be required.

“If the National Assembly vetoes the president, it will show their independence and above all, respect the view of the constituents who gave them the mandate to legislate on their behalf.”

President Buhari, after receiving the bill, delayed assent before jetting out to Turkey, where he celebrated his birthday. He returned Sunday to send a letter to NASS indicating his refusal to assent to the bill as  is.

However, indications are that the National Assembly may not override the President, as the current legislative leadership has a record of none opposition to presidential positions.