The National Assembly has ignored the calls to override President’s assent on Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
Buhari had in a letter to the National Assembly, dated December 13, 2021, rejected the draft law over the provision of direct primaries as the sole mode of conducting political parties’ primaries.
The president had said he would assent the electoral act bill if the lawmakers provided options for the conduct of political parties’ primaries.
Meanwhile, the speaker of the House of Senate, Ahmad Lawan, and the Speaker of House of Representatives. Femi Gbajabiamila had assured people of re-introducing the bill to accommodate direct primaries.
Gbajabiamila said the House had worked and passed important bills including the electoral act amendment to introduce far-reaching reforms in the nation’s electoral process.
He said: “Unfortunately, that bill did not receive presidential assent, and it is unlikely that it will in its current form. Now, we have to choose between sticking to our guns regarding the provision to mandate direct primary elections for political parties or reworking that provision to save the rest of the bill.
“I remain convinced that the proposal for direct primary elections is valuable for building accountability in our political system. But we must not allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good.
“Therefore, the House will reintroduce the amendment tomorrow (today). And we will work quickly to address the mitigating concerns, pass the bill and send it back to His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.”
