The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has explained the reason why President Muhammadu Buhari wrote it over the contentious Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
INEC National Commissioner and chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said as the end user of the electoral legal framework, it was fundamental to seek the opinion of the commission and other critical agencies in the electoral matrix before the Act becomes law.
He explained,, “Pursuant to Section 58(4) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the President has 30 days to assent to a bill presented to him by the National Assembly.
“The President has requested the commission and other critical national institutions to revert with detailed and considered views indicating whether or not the President should assent to the bill.
“This is the democratic way to go and the commission will make its views known to the President bearing in mind the overriding national interest and interest of our democracy.
“The commission will go through the bill and revert to the President within the time frame given to it.”
On the cost implication, Okoye said, “It is difficult at this stage to speculate on the cost implications of direct primaries. As of today, the bill is inchoate until the President assents to it.
“It is the constitutional and legal responsibility of the commission to give effect to laws passed by the National Assembly.
“Moreover, direct primaries have been a feature of our electoral legal framework. The commission has monitored direct and indirect primaries organised by the different political parties. The commission does not dictate to political parties on the mode of primaries to adopt.
“The new system of direct primary election proposed in the bill domiciles the conditions for the conduct of the primaries with the political parties. In other words, the procedure adopted for the direct primaries shall be spelt out in a guidelines to be issued by the political party and filed with the commission at least 14 days before the primary election.”
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE reports that bill was passed by the National Assembly on November 9, 2021 and was transmitted to the president on November 19.
By law Buhari has until December 19 to sign it or withhold his assent and communicate to the National Assembly his views and comments about it.
It was expected that if after 30 days he refuses to sign the bill, and with the National Assembly not in support of the President’s amendments or reservation, the Senate and the House of Representatives can recall the bill and pass it into law.
Should the bill be passed in the form it was sent to the President by two-thirds majority votes in both chambers, the bill automatically becomes a law even without the signature of the President.
