The last has not been heard on the ongoing tussle between President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly over the president’s refusal to assent to the 2021 Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill. This has led to the Senate mobilizing its members for a showdown with the executive over the matter and immediately moved to override the president.
The situation in the House of Representatives, however, was not as heated as the Senate, the House leadership said, while the bill might not have received presidential assent, it was within the responsibility of the parliament to decide the best way forward, adding that it would resume efforts to reform the electoral system next year.
As at yesterday over 75 senators had already signed a proposal, as at yesterday evening, indicating a commitment to override Buhari’s veto of the electoral bill, which would be introduced as a motion.
Buhari’s letter was read at the start of plenary by the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmed Lawan, after the upper chamber came out from a closed session, which lasted some 40 minutes.
In the letter, the president explained that his decision to withhold assent to the electoral bill was informed by advice from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government after a thorough review.
“In the premise of the above, I hereby signify to the National Assembly that I am constrained to withhold assent to the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2021, in line with the provisions of Section 58(1) & (4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). It is my considered position that the political parties should be allowed to freely exercise right of choice in deciding which of direct or indirect primaries to adopt in the conduct of their primary elections as their respective realities may permit.”
According to him, signing the bill into law would have serious adverse legal, financial, economic and security consequences on the country, particularly, in view of Nigeria’s peculiarities. He also said any attempt to impose direct primaries on the political parties would be undemocratic.
Buhari further noted that such imposition would negatively affect the rights of citizens to participate in government as constitutionally guaranteed.
This is the second time the president would be withholding assent to the electoral bill, the first being during the Eighth National Assembly in 2018, when he said the passage of the bill by the then National Assembly was too close to the 2019 general election.
Two closed-door sessions held at yesterday’s plenary was said to be inconclusive, as senators, reportedly, threatened to invoke the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to veto the president’s position at Wednesday’s plenary.
Apprehensive of possible outbursts from senators on the president’s veto and, apparently, to prevent open opposition to Buhari’s communication to the senate, Senate President Ahmed Lawan called for an executive session at 10:44am, which lasted an hour. Again, midway into the plenary, Senator George Sekibo (Rivers East) cited Order 14 of the Senate Standing Rules for the senate to go into another round of closed-door session, which Lawan upheld.
Sekibo was said to have used the opportunity of the closed-session to vent his anger over the decision of Buhari to turn down the signing of the Electoral Bill after the two chambers of the National Assembly had dully passed it.
It was further gathered that, at a point, the second closed-door session became rowdy, when some senators suggested that the veto should be upturned, while some others tried to prevail on them not to take the matter too far.