President Muhammadu Buhari has withheld his assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, which seeks to re-order the sequence of polls in 2019.
Following the development, Punch reports that members of the House of Representatives and senators were consulting on the possibility of overriding the President’s rejection.
Buhari, in a March 8, 2018 letter written to both chambers of the National Assembly, said the amendments by the lawmakers were in conflict with existing laws.
President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, read the letter on the floor of the upper chamber on Tuesday.
At the House of Representatives, the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, read the letter to lawmakers.
The letter read, “Pursuant to Section 58(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), I hereby convey to the Senate, my decision on 3rd March 2018, to decline presidential assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2018 recently passed by the National Assembly.
“Some of my reasons for withholding assent to the bill include the following: the amendment to the sequence of the elections in Section 25 of the principal Act may infringe upon the constitutionally guaranteed discretion of the Independent National Electoral Commission to organise, undertake and supervise all elections provided in Section 15(a) of the Third Schedule of the Constitution.
“The amendment to Section 138 of the principal Act to delete two crucial grounds upon which an election may be challenged by candidates, unduly limits the rights of candidates in elections to a free and fair electoral review process.
“The amendment to Section 152 Subsection 325 of the principal Act may raise constitutional issues over the competence of the National Assembly to legislate over local government elections.”
A new Section 25 in the Electoral Bill, which states that the sequence of the elections will commence with National Assembly, to be followed by governorship and State Houses of Assembly, while presidential poll will come last, has polarised the All Progressives Congress Caucus in the Senate.
Lawmakers had hinted before now that they would override the President’s veto.
A member, who spoke to Punch on condition of anonymity said, “The President has played his own part.
“He kept to the constitutional provision of within 30 days by writing to the National Assembly.
“On our part, we have to consult. This is not the type of issue you rush to take decisions.
“The consultations will cut across party and zonal caucuses for members to take a position on the next line of action.”
The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Abdulrazak Namdas, had disclosed earlier that the legislature would override the President’s veto.
Namdas had stated, “For now, the bill has gone to Mr. President and we are waiting for his response. If his response is that he won’t sign, we are ready to override his veto.
“I can assure you that in both chambers of the National Assembly, we will get the required two-thirds majority to override the veto.”
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