Much ado over Electoral Act

Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN)

An opposition is jittery, says Fed Govt Override Buhari’s veto, Agbakoba tells
National Assembly

The row over President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to sign the Electoral  Law Amendment Bill  deepened yesterday,

The government said the opposition was jittery over the matter; former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) urged the National Assembly to override the President’s veto.

Senator Joseph Waku also backed an override of the veto, but Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura said the President acted in good faith.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it would have been implementing the law if the President had signed it.

At a briefing in Abuja, Information and Culture Minister Alhaji Lai Mohammed  said Buhari did not sign the Bill because  he wants the best for Nigeria.”

According to him, there is no substance in the complaints over the timing or otherwise on when the  President should react to a bill.

Besides, he accused the opposition of being behind fake news to derail the 2019 elections.

The Minister said: “On the issue of the bill, our President has already communicated to the National Assembly on why he is not signing that bill. And I think if I remember, one of the reasons why he will not sign it now is that signing that bill at this point in time would create confusion and will not make for clarity.

“I don’t think I want to say more than this. We are actually waiting for the response of the National Assembly on this matter. We also pointed to certain errors which we felt the National Assembly should look into and we await further reaction from the  National Assembly..

“There’s actually no reason for the President not to sign the Electoral Bill if he is not convinced that signing it would only jeopardise free and fair election. His refusal to sign is simply because he wants the best for Nigeria.

He picked holes in the opposition’s claim that Buhari declined to sign the bill as part of a plan to rig the elections.

“The opposition is jittery. Already, they have rejected the outcome of the elections. They’ve asked the INEC chairman to resign, they’ve asked the present Inspector General of Police (IG) to resign. They are just preparing excuses for their eventual loss.

“There is absolutely no substance in the timing or otherwise on the President reacting to the bill because you need to study very carefully, consult very widely before you assent to a bill or before you respond to a proposed bill.”

The President and his team, Muhammed said, had always been painstaking in studying bills passed by the National Assembly before signing them into law.

He said: “It is a credit to Mr. President that he would even take the comments of the relevant ministers when a bill like this is being proposed. An electoral bill is so crucial to the life of a nation that time and effort must not be spared in assuring we do the right thing.
In drafting, what you think is just common mistakes and errors could make a whole lot of difference.

“If you put ‘and’ instead of ‘or’ it may change the entire character of the legislation. I remember in my Law School days, during drafting attention is put on every word. But the main reason I hold on to as to why the President said he is not going to sign this bill is that it will create uncertainty in the Electoral Act.

” Yes there has been a lot of reactions from all, but I think the President has the prerogative to look at the bill, consult with all the authorities, and make known his views to the National assembly. Yes, there should be a lot of cordiality between the NASS and the Federal Government.”

He said the President was only sticking to the principle of separation of powers.

“But at the same time, each arm should guard very jealously its independence and its mandate. And I think this is exactly what the President has done in this matter,” he said.

On the implications of not signing the bill, Mohammed urged the nation to await the of the National Assembly’s decision.

He said:  “I think the constitution is very clear on this matter. The President has returned the Bill to the National Assembly; I think we should just wait for development from the National Assembly. I think it is too premature now to start testing what is going to happen.”

Asked what the government will do if the National Assembly overrides the President’s veto, the Minister said: “Let’s wait for that to happen.”

The opposition he alleged, was sponsoring fake news because it has run out of ideas on how to prosecute the 2019 polls.

The minister said: Going back to the issue of fake news, I think the biggest weapon in the arsenal of the opposition today is fake news. We also have it on good authority that the opposition has hired technology companies to actually turn out fake news to look probable but all being fake news.

In This Story: #NationalAssembly #INEC #NASS #NBA #SAN #Mohammed #Agbakoba

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