President Muhammadu Buhari has explained why he declined assent to the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill.
In a letter to the Senate dated December 6, 2018, the President pointed out that it would be out of place to use the bill to conduct the 2019 election when activities for the exercise had already commenced.
This, he said, is tantamount to changing the goalpost in the middle of a football game. Already, activities for the 2019 elections have commenced.
In the letter which was addressed to the Senate President Bukola Saraki, the President said lawmakers should specify in the proposed legislation that it would only take effect after the 2019 General Election.
BusinessDay had earlier reported on Wednesday that President Buhari may decline assent to the bill.
In a two-page letter titled: ‘Presidential Decision to Decline Assent to the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2018′, the President also highlighted some drafting errors in the bill.
The letter reads: “Pursuant to Section 58 (4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), l hereby convey to the Senate my decision on the 6th December, 2018 to decline presidential assent to the Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2018 recently passed by the National Assembly.
“I am declining assent to the Bill principally because I am concerned that passing a new Electoral Act his far into the electoral procees for the 2019 general election which commenced under the 2015 Electoral Act could create some uncertainty about the applicable legislation to govern the process. Any real or apparent change to the rules this close to the election may provide an opportunity for disruption and confusion in respect of which law governs the electoral process.
“This leads me to believe that it is in the best interest of the country and our democracy for the National Assembly to specifically state in the bill that the Electoral Act will come into effect and be applicable to elections commencing after the 2019 General Elections.
“It is also important for the following drafting amendments to be made to the bill:
a. Section 5 of the bill, amending Section 18 of the Prlnclpel Act should indicate the subsection to which the substitution of the figure ’30’ for the figure ’60’ is to be effected.
b. Section 11 of the bill, amending Section 36 should indicate the subsection in which the proviso is to be introduced.
c. Section 24 of the bill which amends Section 85 (1) should be redrafted in full as the introduction of the ‘electing’ to the sentence may be interpreted to mean that political parties may give 21 days’ notice of the intention to merge, as opposed to the 90 days provided in Section 84 (2) of the Electoral Act which provides the provision for merger of political parties.
d. The definition of the term ‘Ward Collection Officer’ should be revised to reflect a more descriptive definition that the capitalised and undefined term ‘Registration Area Collation Officer'”.
Meanwhile, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has described the President’s decision to decline assent to the bill as an invitation to anarchy.
A statement on Friday night by CUPP spokesperson, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, said the ‘fear of defeat’ informed the President’s decision to decline assent to the bill.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
from BusinessDay Online, TV, and Podcast https://ift.tt/2ElDOwK
Business News Live devoted itself to sharing articles about Business, Entrepreneurs and Business Matters. It is fond of sharing knowledge and experience on the blog, our main goal is to deliver interesting articles that is worth a reader's time.