Uduegbunam Chukwujama
Lawmakers’ collection of signatures notwithstanding, the Nigerian legislature will not override President Muhammadu Buhari’s withholding of assent to the 2021 Electoral Act Amendment Bill as submitted on November 19, 2021.
This is because many of the lawmakers will take decisions based on the whims of the 36 state governors who are clearly bent on killing the direct primary election provision in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelElectoral Act: Buhari Declines Assent Over ‘N500B’ Direct Primary Costs
Prime Business Africa had on December 1, 2021, exclusively reported that All Progressives Congress (APC) governors working in agreement with their opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) counterparts across the country had met behind closed doors with President Buhari to demand that he rejects the provision for direct primary elections because it would further divide the party and incure huge costs.
The President, who subsequently declined assent, based on the purported high cost of conducting direct primaries, had sought advice from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which put the cost at some N500 billion. The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami, Prime Business Africa reported, also gave similar advice after consultations.
Electoral Bill: Buhari Reconfirms Prime Business Africa’s Exclusive, Writes National Assembly
The December 1, 2021 exclusive report noted that the National Assembly would have the option of agreeing with the President by holding a joint session to remove the direct primary election clause and resubmit a revised version of the Bill or override him.
But Prime Business Africa gathered that that particular option would not fly because the governors, who prevailed on the president to reject the bill in the first place, have put down their feet to ensure it does not happen; they have reached out to the lawmakers at the Senate and the House of Representatives to ensure they do not tag along with the process of overriding the President’s veto.
”More than 90 percent of the lawmakers in the Senate and the House of Reps are loyal to their state governors from where they believe they derive their political strength and would not risk a finger to offend them,” a leader of ruling APC told Prime Business Africa on Wednesday.
Senators who have already beat a retreat had put the decision at the doorstep of the House of Reps, some members of which were early in the week collecting signatures for support to override President Buhari’s veto on the Bill.
Six Reasons Buhari Rejected Direct Primaries In New Electoral Bill
The move from governors to thwart the process of overriding Buhari’s veto transcends political party affiliation and includes state executives in APC , PDP and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
