As Nigeria comes to terms with the tension and controversies surrounding the rejection of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill by President Muhammadu Buhari, a group of civil society organisations (CSOs) and lawyers have proffered some measures to overcome the logjam that currently threatens the nation’s democratic development.
President Buhari had in a letter dated December 13, to the National Assembly, titled ‘Withholding of Assent to Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2021’, refused to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, citing economic, security and legal issues.
The president, while faulting the removal of indirect primaries as contained in Section 87 of the Electoral Act 2010, said the amendment as proposed violated the underlying spirit of democracy, which is characterised by freedom of choice.
He also said the amendment would stifle smaller parties without the enormous resources required to mobilise all their members for the primaries and that was not healthy for the sustenance of multi-party democracy in the country.
Majority of Nigerians, however, seem to want quick resolution of the stalemate, saying the contentions in the bill is a speck in the eye, which does not require throwing the baby with the bathwater.
National Assembly reacts
In one of the earliest reactions to the president’s stance, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, said the National Assembly would decide the fate of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill upon resumption from the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The lower chamber adjourned for the holidays after it received a letter from President Buhari declining assent to the Electoral Bill transmitted to him over 30 days ago.
Shortly after reading the president’s letter, Gbajabiamila, in his end of the year remarks, said the lawmakers would do their duty for “country and God.”
Despite calls on the lawmakers to override the president, Gbajabiamila, who introduced the direct primaries clause into the bill, said the parliament will not “throw away the baby with the bathwater.”
He said the direct clause was included because “we hoped it will significantly enhance the conduct of our national elections and improve public confidence in our electoral outcomes.
“As it is now, that bill has not received presidential assent, and it falls to parliament to decide the best way forward.”
On their part, the Senate on Wednesday rescinded their decision to override President Buhari on the contentious bill.
The upper chamber had on Tuesday collected signatures and vowed to override the president on the bill after series of closed-sessions on the matter.
They also suspended the passage of the 2022 appropriation bill earlier scheduled for Tuesday December 22, 2021 to further push their decision.
However, during Wednesday’s plenary, many senators said reasons advanced by the president did not hold water, noting that refusing to assent to the bill amounted to rejecting the will of the people.
The Red Chamber, thereafter, went to a closed-session that lasted 40 minutes and thereafter, resolved to consult with the House of Representatives and Nigerians on how to respond to Buhari’s decision not to assent to the bill.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan, after the session, said, “The Senate consequently resolved to consult with the House of Representatives in January when the two chambers will be in full session.”
CSOs offer alternatives
A coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) have asked the National Assembly to either override President Muhammadu Buhari’s veto of the Electoral Act Amendment bill or re-amend the bill and re-forward to Mr. President.
They made the calls in separate statements and interviews in Abuja.
The CSOs coalition expressed disappointment over the withholding of assent by the president to a bill that relevant electoral stakeholders spent enormous time and resources to put together, noting that it undermined public confidence and trust in the electoral system.
“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 holidays.
“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 elections.
“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,” the organisations said.
The CSOs are Yiaga Africa, International Press Centre (IPC), Centre for Citizens with Disability (CCD), The Albino Foundation, CLEEN Foundation, Institute for Media and Society (IMS), Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF) and Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ).
They, therefore, urged the National Assembly to as a matter of national emergency, either override the president’s decision or remove the contentious clause(s) from the Bill and transmit it back to the president for assent within the next 30 days.
In an interview with Daily Trust, the National Secretary of CUPP, High Chief Peter Ameh, said the reason for the present logjam was due to incompetence as the president would have accented to it and brought up amendments as was done with the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to show good intentions.
Ameh, a former National Chairman of Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), said, “Though this was well planned all along by the APC-led government to ensure that we do not have laws that will strengthen our weak electoral architecture and in return handover the outcome of our voting process to electoral malfeasance.
“This refusal is the climax of the plan to make sure that the electoral vampires continue to reign supreme.”
On her part, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) Director, Idayat Hassan, urged the National Assembly to immediately remove the provisions on direct primaries as raised by President Buhari.
She said the call became imperative against the backdrop of President Buhari’s decision to decline assent to the Electoral Bill 2021.
Hassan urged the National Assembly to re-present the bill to the president for his assent.
She noted that President Buhari missed a golden opportunity to write his name in gold and that the National Assembly must redeem the situation to strengthen the nation’s democracy.
“Nigerians had all expected that President Buhari would write his name in gold as the president who bequeathed an improved electoral framework on the country.
CDD called on the National Assembly to immediately toe two immediate options; either veto the president and pass the Electoral Act 2021 bill into an act of the National Assembly, or immediately remove the provisions on direct primaries as raised by the president and re-present the bill for his assent,” Hassan said.
Also, the Executive Director, CISLAC, and Coordinator, Transparency International (TI) in Nigeria, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said the National Assembly, as the representatives of Nigerians, has done well in passing the majority wish of the citizens to the president.
He said it is left for the lawmakers to prove to Nigerians that they are not a rubber stamp, as claimed by Senate President Ahmad Lawan, by overriding President Buhari’s veto.
Section 58 (5) of the 1999 Constitution empowers lawmakers to override the president.
It reads: “Where the President withholds his assent and the bill is again passed by each House by a two-thirds majority, the bill shall become law and the assent of the President shall not be required.”
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive, Connected Development (CODE), Hamzat Lawal, has also lamented that President Buhari had an opportunity to leave a good legacy but for some reason, the electoral bill, which has the ability to transform elections in Nigeria, is being ignored.
“I think we’re now at a point where we all agree that this country will succeed and the destiny of this country should not be stifled,” Lawal said.
Lawyer reacts
Speaking on the matter, Abel Ozioko Esq, said there is nothing that has gladdened the hearts of well-meaning Nigerians in recent times like the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, wherein the National Assembly made direct primaries the only mode of selection of candidates by political parties.
He said the lawmakers properly and rightly exercised their powers under Section 4 of the constitution and did what is most beneficial for our democratic advancement but regrettably, the presidency appears to see it in another dimension.
“I do not agree that the direct primaries is undemocratic. I do not also agree that it will be susceptible to corruption and monetization. In fact, the reverse is the case if compared with the indirect primaries that we all saw how it is manipulated.
“I am convinced that the National Assembly will not be deterred, and will override the presidential assent, but I warn them to be careful and meticulous about it so that they get it right, else, the act can be invalidated if challenged.
“They should ensure strict compliance with Section 58(5) of the constitution and look at the decided cases of National Assembly v. President, and Adamawa State House of Assembly v. Tijjani, and be well guided,” Ozioko said.
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