Buhari Declines Assent To Electoral Bill, Gives Reasons

President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly failed to sign the 2021 Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law, Naija News has learned.

According to a report on Vanguard, President stated reasons he declined assent to the bill in a letter forwarded to Senate President Ahmad Lawan, which will be read during Tuesday plenary.

The newspaper quoted a source as saying that one of the reasons given by the President is that assenting to the bill would cause trouble among the political parties in the country.

According to the source, another reason given by the President is that the direct primaries mode of picking candidates by political parties in the amended Electoral Act was dangerous to the political atmosphere.

The source added that the President supported parties conducting their primaries either directly or Indirectly, adding that their various constitutions support such provisions.

He stated that the President also rejected the bill due to the fact that direct primaries would mean forcing the parties to go against their constitutions.

According to the source, Buhari has returned the bill to the National Assembly and asked the lawmakers to work on the clause that has to do with direct primaries and return the document for assent.

Recall that the Presidency had said that President Buhari will take a final decision on assenting to the Electoral Act 2010 (Amendment) Bill soon.

Naija News reports that presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, made this known on Sunday in an interview on a programme on Channels Television.

Shehu stated that even though the president has not made his decision known on the electoral bill, the Nigerian leader is conscious of his responsibilities.

He argued that President Buhari will consider the interest of Nigerians before signing the bill and has been duly advised on the advantages and disadvantages of his assent to the bill.

The presidential spokesman, therefore, said President Buhari will send a privileged communication to the National Assembly after signing the bill into law.

Shehu refused to confirm if the President will send the communication before Tuesday when the lawmakers would sit for the last time this year or after their recess in January.