December 25, (THEWILL) – Three days to the expiration of the mandatory 21 days to assent to The Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari jetted out to Istanbul for a three-day Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit and flew back on the deadline. Two days after, on Tuesday, December 21, he forwarded a letter to the National Assembly, explaining why he would not assent to the bill.
He cited financial, legal, security consequences and weak political foundation based on advice from Ministries, Departments and security agencies after a review, for rejecting the bill.
President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan and Speaker of House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, at the opening of plenary on Tuesday, read the letter from the Buhari on his rejection of the Electoral Act 2021 (Amendment) Bill.
Buhari said, among others, “The direct implication of institutionalising only direct primaries is the aggravation of over-monetisation of the process as there will be much more people a contestant needs to reach out to thereby further fuelling corruption and abuse of office by incumbent contestants who may resort to public resources to satisfy the increased demands and logistics of winning party primaries.
“Indirect primaries or collegiate elections are part of internationally accepted electoral practices. More so, direct primaries are not free from manipulations and do not particularly guarantee the emergence of the will of the people especially in circumstances like ours where it is near impossible to sustain a workable implementation framework or structure thereof.
“The conduct of direct primaries across the 8,809 wards across the length and breadth of the country will lead to a significant spike in the cost of conducting primary elections by parties as well as increase in the cost of monitoring such elections by INEC who has to deploy monitors across these wards each time a party is to conduct direct primaries for the presidential, gubernatorial and legislative posts. The addition of these costs with the already huge cost of conducting general elections will inevitable lead to huge financial burden on both the political parties, INEC and the economy in general at a time of dwindling revenues.
“The amendment, as proposed, is a violation of the underlying spirit of democracy, which is characterised by freedom of choices of which political party membership is a voluntary exercise of the constitutional right of freedom of association,”
Both chambers of the national assembly reacted immediately. The Red Chamber bristled and drew a line with the executive; the Senate adjourned plenary till the next day, Wednesday, to enable them decide on how to override the President Buhari on the 2010 Electoral Act (amendments) Bill 2021. The Senators immediately set about gathering signatures to veto the President’s decision.
The Green chamber mellowed out and deferred action to next year when they would have resumed from end-of year recess.
According to Speaker Gbajabiamila, the National Assembly would decide the next course of action regarding the electoral bill in 2022.
“As it is, it falls on the parliament to decide the way forward,” said Gbajabiamila during his end-of-the-year speech to members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, December 21.
“When we resume next year, we will decide it together. We must not throw a baby away with the bathwater.”
By Wednesday morning, however, Senators gave the impression that they were bent on vetoing the executive, flaunting 75 signatories among them as indication that they had got more than the required two-thirds majority to follow through their threat. By afternoon, this senatorial resolve had hit the brick wall. The senior lawmakers failed to override the President’s veto on the 2010 Electoral Act (amendments) Bill 2021.
President of the Senate Lawan, as usual had intervened to pour cold water on the matter. He gave three reasons why it was impracticable to carry out their advertised threat. He said after the executive session with members the upper chamber decided to consult with members of the House of Representatives on the matter; since the lower chamber had gone on recess, it would be proper to wait till January after resumption of the members; and that members should use the intervening recess period to consult with their constituencies.
For many Nigerians who had been referring to the ninth NASS as “rubber stamp,” because they felt it was always beholden to the executive since the intra-party aided election of its leadership in an APC dominated assembly, the collapse of the Senator’s threat was expected.
What could have amazed them however was that the senior lawmakers could not defend decisions that they took themselves particularly, on the direct primary clause, which they inserted into the Electoral Act after yielding to public and stakeholder’s pressure to include electronic transmission of results in the Electoral Act amendment.
Also, President Buhari acted true to type, despite promising during a recent foreign trip that he would bequeath a legacy of transparent and credible electoral system in Nigeria. His last week rejection of the Electoral Act amendment 2021 would be his fifth time in seven years in office to decline assent to the Act.
In 2018, he refused to sign Electoral Act amendment bills transmitted to him by the Eighth National Assembly led by then Senate President Bukola Saraki, four times.
The first time was in February 2018. His grouse was that amendment bill contained provisions that reordered the sequence of elections; In June, both chambers of the NASS worked on the bill and resent it; he refused to sign. A monthly later, in July he cited increased costs of conducting elections and rejected the bill.
Then few weeks to the February 13, 2019 general election, he sent a letter dated December 6, 2018, addressed to Senate President Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara, saying that signing the bill close to preparation for the 2019 elections would cause confusion and lead to uncertainty in the polity.
He promised to sign the bill after the 2019 elections. He never did.
Now, in 2021, few before the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, commences preparations for the coming elections in Osun and Ekiti States in June, 2022, he has rejected the amendments to the 2021 bill, citing finance, insecurity, legal consequences. A powerful lobby put up by governors across party lines, who argued that direct primary clause infringed rights of political parties, and Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who cited insecurity and finance to empower INEC, swayed the president.
“More disappointing is the fact that the President delayed his response until the effluxion of time required for assenting to legislation until the date that the National Assembly is proceeding for the Christmas and New Year holiday,” said CSOs, in their reaction to the development.
The CSOs, namely, Yiaga Africa; International Press Centre, IPC; Centre for Citizens with Disability, CCD; Albino Foundation; CLEEN Foundation; Institute for Media and Society, IMS; Nigerian Women Trust Fund, NWTF; and Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism, PTCIJ, on Wednesday, December 22, 2021, said; “The President’s decision to withhold assent to the Bill will have serious implication for INEC as it prepares for the FCT Area Council election, the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections, and ultimately the 2023 General Election.
“The non-conclusion of the electoral amendment process will mean that these elections will be conducted using the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), denying INEC the opportunity to test the efficacy of some of the new innovations introduced in the proposed Electoral Bill 2021. This is apart from the delay the Commission will have to contend with in the required effort to review its guidelines, regulations and manuals in accordance with certain provisions of the Bill.
Mr Segun Sowunmi, Spokesperson of Atiku Campaign Organisation, thinks the President should have explored the advantage of the APC controlled NASS to discuss grey areas in the Act and remove areas considered contentions and then sign it.
He said; “The president has no excuse because they have time. Is it out of place for the presidency to have a joint process with the senate with a view to strengthen our elections.? Why should we be spending huge money to vote and we are not even sure that the process has integrity.”
Curiously, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers who, alongside governors, had also kicked against inclusion of direct primary in the amendment bill, said during the week that the clause was included by the APC lawmakers who wanted to kill electronic transmission of results by INEC.
“The APC itself and their populated national Assembly cannot be taken seriously on issues that bother on deepening electoral process and reforms in the electoral system, said Chief Willy Ezugwu, Secretary General of the National Conference of Political Parties, CNPP.
He added; “Their main fears centre on electronic transmission of results and direct primary which would have swept the current leaders in APC out of power in 2023 for failing to deliver on their electoral promises.”
Similarly, two governorship aspirants in Benue state have decried decried the refusal of President Buhari to sign the Electoral Act amendment.
Dr. Terver Tule, the PDP governorship aspirant in the state, wondered aloud why the president had declined assent since he was not seeking another elective position in 2023.
“One would have taught that he is afraid that what the Act would affect his chances.
“If governors resist the direct primary, I could understand because of their fear of unknown. But direct primary has come to stay because the agitation by Nigerians has just started and if not now, then tomorrow we will the need for it,” he said.
Dr Tule however gave the NASS the benefit of the doubt.
“The national assembly leadership has promised that when they reconvene next year from recess they will look into it by doing what majority of Nigerians are yearning for”.
Commenting, his counterpart from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Arch Bishop Jim James Okewu, charged the national assembly to do the needful by towing the way of Nigerians to get it right in 2023; noting that their powers to veto Mr president is the only option available for now.
Oku Eyo Oku, Organising Secretary of the Social Democratic Party in Cross Rivers State, is doubtful if the NASS can muster the courage to assert themselves and veto the President on the issue.
“There’s no denying the fact that the National Assembly can override the President’s refusal to assent the Bill if they are determined to so, with just two-third majority of their members. But can they boast of two third patriotic NASS members who are genuinely alive to their constitutional responsibilities,? He asked and then answered;
“Majority of our National Assembly members is a bunch of bloody opportunists, wicked and selfish who would chill characteristically and withdraw to their shells once they are settled.
“Those anticipating override of the Electoral Amendment Bill 2021 by the Federal legislators are only being treated to an entertained.”
WAY FORWARD
If this matter is not put to rest between now and February 2022, most presidential aspirants will likely be wasting their time, money and energy as the consequential multiple litigations may adversely affect preparations towards the much anticipated 2023 Presidential Election.
Oko Eyo Oku urged the NASS to remove the “contemptuous. odd and unconstitutional Direct Primary clause and send the Bill back to Mr President to do the needful, and if he delays or refuses to do so, then the NASS should take action to override the Bill.”
For the CSOs, three things have to be done to avert further complications and logjam in the efforts to strengthen the electoral process; The National Assembly as a matter of national emergency should either override the President’s decision or remove the contentious clause (s) from the Bill and transmit the Bill back to the President for assent within the next 30 days.
They urge the National Assembly to ensure that all clerical, editorial, and cross-referencing gaps in the current Bill are resolved before transference back to the President.
The President should expeditiously assent to the revised Bill upon receipt from the National Assembly.
Civil society groups, media, and development partners must sustain the effort to protect the will of the
people and safeguard the electoral reform process from policy capture and manipulation.
About the Author
Amos Esele is the Deputy Editor of THEWILL Newspaper. He has over two decades of experience on the job.
