Tag: ELECTORAL BILL

Electoral Bill: “Buhari doesn’t like himself; he’s under a curse”, A’isha Yesufu charges

Aminu Imam

Following his refusal to sign the Electoral Act (amendment) Bill, popular social media activist, A’isha Yesufu has come hard on President Muhammadu Buhari. A’isha believes that the Electoral Act presented the President a huge opportunity to, at least, leave a lasting legacy before leaving office in less than sixteen months. Many Nigerians are amazed that the President, despite giving assurance that he would sign the Bill into law once the direct primary clause is expunged from it, is still withholding his assent even after the National Assembly has complied with…

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Electoral Bill: 26 Civil Society groups declare Feb. 22 as National Day of Protest

Aminu Imam

…Gives Buhari next week Tuesday to assent to Bill As Nigerians are becoming anxious about the electoral process ahead of the 2023 general elections, 26 Civil Society groups, (CSOs), yesterday, declared Tuesday, Feb. 22, as ‘National Day of Protest’, following the delay by President Muhammadu Buhari to assent the Electoral Act (amendment) Bill. In an issued statement, the groups also gave next week Tuesday as an ultimatum for President Buhari to sign the Bill based on dates announced for the 2023 elections, if they are to be maintained. The 26…

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23 CSOs raise concerns as hope dims for amended Electoral Bill

Aminu Imam

…INEC may have to postpone 2023 elections if President assents to Bill after Feb. 22 With a few days to the deadline, before which the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), is expected by law to release the Notice of Election for the 2023 general elections, the hope that President Muhammadu Buhari will assent to the Electoral Act (amendment Bill appears dim, as 23 civil society groups, yesterday expressed fear that the same fate that befell previous attempts to amend Nigeria’s election law awaits this latest version. Recall that since 2018,…

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Anxiety mounts, as President Buhari may veto Electoral Bill again

Aminu Imam

…APC, PDP governors mount pressure Stakeholders in Nigeria’s electoral system have continued to lament the continued delay by President Muhammadu Buhari in signing the Electoral Act (amendment) Bill into law. When on Thursday last week, they gathered in Abuja for a one-day Policy Dialogue, organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, (NILDS), anxiety was written on the faces of many stakeholders as they took turns to lament the continued delay by Mr. President in signing the Bill into law. The soothing words of Senior Special Adviser to…

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‘Why Buhari is afraid to sign reworked Electoral Bill’ – Wike

Aminu Imam

Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, has alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari is apprehensive to sign the reworked Electoral Act Amendment Bill because it will adversely affect the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 general elections. Wike identified the inclusion of the compulsory electronic transmission of electoral results in the bill, which had been reworked, passed, and sent to Buhari by the National Assembly, as one of the greatest fears of the APC. A statement by Wike’s Special Assistant, Media, Kelvin Ebiri, said the Governor spoke at the inauguration…

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Electoral Act: ‘Malami using his office to endanger our democracy’ – CSOs

Aminu Imam

A group, under the aegis of ‘Civil Society Partners on Electoral Reform’, has accused Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, of abusing the powers and advantages of his office in giving wrong advice to the President in signing the Electoral Bill into law. The group said high-level of insensitivity to the public interest; negative disposition and opposition to the Electoral Bill by the AGF was an affront to democracy and Section 174 (3) of the 1999 Constitution”. In a statement issued yesterday by the Executive…

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Electoral Act Amendment: National anger swirls around Buhari over refusal to assent to Bill

Aminu Imam

President Muhammadu Buhari may be in for civil disobedience if he fails to assent to, any time soon, the Electoral Bill amended recently and sent to him by the National Assembly. Buhari has, since 2015, refused to assent to the document several times, fuelling the belief by many observers that his promise to leave behind a legacy of a robust electoral process may be a fluke. Recall that the Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and Country director, ActionAids Nigeria, Ene Obi,while speaking on a television programme on Wednesday, said…

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NASS transmits re-amended Electoral Bill to President Buhari for assent

Aminu Imam

The Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill was yesterday transmitted to President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent by the Clerk to the National Assembly. In an issued statement yesterday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Babajide Omoworare, said authenticated copies of the Bill were transmitted to the Executive. He confirmed, in the statement, that Clerk to the National Assembly, Arc. Amos Olatunde Ojo, released the copies before they were forwarded to the Executive. The transmission, he said, is in pursuance of Section 58 (3) of…

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Electoral Act (amendment) Bill: NASS passes harmonised Bill with direct, indirect, consensus modes of party primaries

Aminu Imam

The National Assembly has passed the harmonised version of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill. The harmonised version, passed by the lawmakers during yesterday’s plenary, is the final agreed version between the Senate and House of Representatives, on the amendment to Clause 84 of the Bill. It includes the direct, indirect, and consensus primary modes of nominating candidates by political parties for elections. The re-amendment was sequel to a motion on “rescission on clause 84 of the Electoral Act No. 26 2010 (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and Committal to the Committee of…

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‘Gbajabiamila introduced direct primary in Electoral Bill to favour someone’, Senator Na’Allah claims

Aminu Imam

The lawmaker representing Kebbi-South Senatorial District, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, has said that the direct primary clause, which led to the rejection of the Electoral Bill by President Muhammadu Buhari, was introduced into the Bill by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Na’allah, who claimed during an interview on television, explained that the Speaker’s idea of direct primary was to favour someone, whom he failed to name. He further noted that during the discussions at the committee level, the issue of direct primaries was never brought up. Na’allah also…

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