The National Assembly has transmitted clean copies of the re-amended Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.
This was confirmed in a statement issued by the Special Assistant to the President on NASS, Senator Babajide Omoworare.
Omoworare, in the statement confirmed that Bill was transmitted to the President after it has been reworked by the two chambers of the National Assembly.
The statement reads: “The Clerk to the National Assembly Mr. Olatunde Amos Ojo has transmitted the authenticated copies of the Electoral Bill 2022 to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari GCFR on 31st January 2022.
“This was done in accordance with the provisions of Section 58 (3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the Acts Authentication Act Cap. A2 LFN 2004.
“Mr. President had withheld assent to the Electoral Bill 2021 transmitted to him on 19th November 2021. The Electoral Bill was thereafter reworked by the National Assembly and both the Senate and the House of Representatives passed same on 25th January 2022.”
Recall that Buhari in December declined his assent to the Electoral bill over the inclusion of the clause 84 compelling parties to adopt Direct Primaries as a mode of electing their flagbearers.
The National Assembly in the bill transmitted to Buhari in November, 2021 had mandated direct primaries as mode of elections for political parties in the country.
However, the president in a letter addressed to the leaders of the both chambers, called for the bill to be reworked on the grounds that the direct primaries 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 Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) among others.
