Temidayo Akinsuyi, Lagos

As President Muhammadu Buhari awaits the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill which will be sent to him by the National Assembly for assent there are indications that the presidency and the lawmakers may be on a collision course over a possible veto of the bill.

Based on the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), presidential and National Assembly elections were slated for the same day on February 16, 2019.

However, with amendment to section 25 of the Electoral Act, election into seats at the National Assembly will hold on the first day before those of the state lawmakers and state governors on the second day, with the presidential election holding last on a separate date.

According to the section, the elections shall be held in the following order: (a) National Assembly election (b) States House of Assembly and governorship elections (c) presidential election.

The House of Representatives was first to amend the Electoral Act some weeks after INEC’s timetable was announced. However, the passage at the Senate was not without drama and dissent.

The Senate chamber was thrown into a rowdy session on Wednesday, February 14, following the adoption of the conference committee report on amendment to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Act.

The Senate in its justification of the amendment said members of the conference committee followed rules guiding legislative procedures in the Senate and the House of Representatives in making the recommendation.

According to credible sources at the National Assembly, the bill which recommended that the presidential election will be the last to be conducted in 2019 will be forwarded to the president for assent tomorrow (Tuesday).

However, in anticipation of a likely veto to the bill by the president, sources at the National Assembly told DAILY INDEPENDENT that lawmakers elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) who originated the bill in the first place “have already passed a point of no return” and will sever their ties with the ruling party in a matter of days.

He added that the lawmakers who are desperate to protect their political future will seize the opportunity of the 30 days allowed by Section 88 (b) of the Senate Rule and override any veto by the president.

“One thing I know is that the probability of President Buhari withholding his assent to the Bill is very high based on the belief by the presidency that the reordering of the election is a coup against the president by the lawmakers. So, though the bill will be sent to the president on Tuesday, we are already anticipating a veto.


“But the reality is that in the spirit of separation of powers as enshrined in the constitution, the lawmakers after 30 days of the veto will override it and that will be the beginning of crisis between the two.

“Many of these APC lawmakers you see today are already negotiating their ways out of the party and I won’t be surprised if many of them will join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). I also foresee others joining the Social Democratic Party (SDP) or Peoples Redemption Party (PRP). Based on the problems he is already facing in APC, I foresee Senator Shehu Sani likely joining the PRP”.

When asked whether the lawmakers will not be shooting themselves in the foot by joining the SDP, the party led by Olu Falae and widely considered as a regional party, our source said the party will soon have a national spread as it is currently being revived by Falae and Prof. Jerry Gana, a former Minister of Information.

“Falae and Jerry Gana are reviving SDP and it will soon have a national spread. So, I think it will be a veritable platform for disgruntled lawmakers seeking another alternative from the APC”.

Also details have emerged on the reasons the National Assembly changed the sequence of election. Some of the lawmakers said negotiations that preceded the passage ended in majority favouring the change based on past experiences and calculations about the 2019 elections.

A lawmaker, who spoke on condition of anonymity traced the decision to amend the sequence of elections to the crisis rocking the ruling APC.

“The change in sequence is as a result of APC crisis where it was predicted that senators and members of House of Representatives will not be given tickets because the governors want to replace them with their own candidates,” he said.

“Almost 70 to 80 percent of APC senators and Reps members are working on moving to other parties. So, in order for them to move to other parties, the understanding is that if they will move to other parties, under the old order, it will be difficult for people to win elections. The idea is that if you move to a new party, people can be voted based on their own merit.

“The new arrangement favours three categories of people. One, the APC members who are aggrieved, second, it favours smaller political parties. Third, it favours the PDP.”

The lawmaker added that rather than fighting the president as the dissenting senators claimed, they are actually fighting for their political interests.

“Those who came up against it, outwardly, they are saying that it was targeted at Buhari but inwardly, what they were saying was that if they separate presidential election from National Assembly election, the APC will not release money for polling agents. That APC will not release money for the National Assembly elections. But it is only when they tie National Assembly election with presidential election that the APC will have no option than to fund it.”



Read more https://independent.ng/buhari-national-assembly-set-on-collision-course/

In summary, they don't give a rat ass about anybody only themselves. Thieves

NASS wan test hin power

No matter how strong the conspiracy of cattle brews, the Shepards' decision is final.


Support restructuring!

The amendment to the electoral act is a good one. The should quickly override the president if he refuses to sign. The bill will bring quality to the process and take out bandwagon effect.

APC Implosion has started. We knew it will happen. Strange bed fellas!