Abuja – Following controversies raised over President Muhammadu Buhari’s failure to assent to the 2018 Electoral (Amendment) Act, the presidency has made a strong appeal to the leadership of the National Assembly to reconvene.

Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, made the appeal on Sunday, saying the president was not averse to card readers or e-voting system as being speculated in some quarters.


Recall that Buhari declined assent to the amendment Act on the ground that the document contained some ambiguous clauses which needed to be reviewed.

Shehu expressed displeasure on some of the controversies trailing the document and absolved the presidency of any fault.

“We appeal to the National Assembly to reconvene as soon as possible to consider and approve the necessary corrections to the amended Electoral Act,” he stated.

He said the presidency rejects the allegations, especially from the opposition class as well as some newspaper editorial opinions creating the impression that President Muhammadu Buhari is against e-voting, the use of card readers in the upcoming elections, hence his decision to decline assent, for the third time, to the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2018.

He explained that the president wanted engagement with the parliament for the corrections to be effected so that, at the end of the day, both arms of government will be happy with the fact that a good electoral law is in place.

He said the government wishes to state in clear and unambiguous terms that the issue of e-voting and use of card readers was never an issue for the president’s decision to decline assent to the Bill.

It is equally important that this issue was not raised either by the executive or the legislature in the recent reviews, he noted.

Moreover, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) adoption of e-voting reforms is enshrined in the 2015 Amendment Act to the Electoral Reform Act, Shehu said, noting that card reader is therefore a settled matter. The president’s recent decision to decline assent to the Bill has no effect whatsoever on INEC’s use of card readers, he noted.

“Regrettably, purveyors of ‘fake news’ have been quick to churn out sensational headlines such as that of a leading newspaper, which screamed, ‘Card Reader in Jeopardy, Buhari Rejects Electoral Act Amendment Bill Again.’

An issue has been raised by the president concerning some ill-prepared and flawed parts of the bill for which corrections needed to be made to allow for his signature.

While absolving the president of any blame, Shehu said Buhari was not in confrontation with the parliament on this issue.

He said the president has also asked his officials to dialogue with the legislature for the corrections to be effected. As for his alleged rejection of the card reader, nothing can be farther from the truth, he noted.

“The president is the country’s number one fan of the card reader. For a candidate who ran three times and ‘lost’ in an electoral environment in which votes were allocated and losers asked to go to court if they felt unhappy, the president knows fuly well the role that the card reader played in his emergence in 2015.

“He has said times without number that he would strengthen and widen its application in the country and this, he is determined to do.

“Accordingly, we would like to appeal, especially to the media to disregard baseless allegations against the president, even as he puts in his best efforts in working with the National Assembly to give the nation a good electoral law, and in time.

“The card reader is not in danger of being discarded. It is a sine qua non for credible elections,” the presidency explained.

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“The president is the country’s number one fan of the card reader. For a candidate who ran three times and ‘lost’ in an electoral environment in which votes were allocated and losers asked to go to court if they felt unhappy, the president knows fuly well the role that the card reader played in his emergence in 2015.

Racoon:
Does Buhari needs the NASS reconvening to sign the electoral act or provide good governance It's a global practice that legislatures are always on recess @ this time of the year.Besides there is no national emergency that is warranting this now.

Hadone:
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Biglittlelois:
Hehehehe, i thought they were threatening fire and brimstone before

KEVIND:
*NIGERIANS WILL NEVER FORGET THESE QUOTES:*
These were the words that turned my head for Buhari in 2015.
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*"A serious government will fix power problem in six months." - Babatunde Raji Fashola (November 12, 2014)*
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*"Stone us [APC] if we do not perform after two years." - Tony Momoh ( April 3, 2016, The Guardian)*
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*"The only way to have stable electricity is to vote out PDP." - Babatunde Raji Fashola (July 12, 2014, The Nation)*
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*"We seriously frown at President Goodluck Jonathan, over the unceremonious removal of the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mr Andrew Yakubu." -(APC, August 4, 2014, Channels TV)*
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*"It's Time To Restructure Nigeria: The present situation of things where all component units get monthly allocation from the Federal Government only makes the states lazy and unproductive." - Nasiru El-Rufai (August 2010)*
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*"Jonathan should resign if he has no solution to the violence being unleashed on some parts of the country." - Nasiru El-Rufai (August 2012)*
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*"The only solution to the present political uncertainty in the country is for the National Assembly to set machineries in motion for the impeachment of ailing President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua." - Muhammadu Buhari (March 10, 2010, Sun Newspapers)*
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*"Waste: Let me give an instance, presently, there are more than 6 aircraft in the presidential fleet. What do you call that? "Billions of naira is budgeted every year for the maintenance of these aircraft not to talk of operational cost and other expenses." - Muhammadu Buhari (February 2015, Nigerians in UK)*
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*"We intend for instance, to bring back our National carrier, the Nigerian Airways. We shall do this by bringing all the aircraft in the presidential fleet into the Nigerian airway and within a year increase the fleet into about 20." -Muhammadu Buhari (February 2015, Nigerians in UK)*
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*"Why do I need to embark on a foreign trip as a president with a huge crowd with public funds?*
*"Why do I need to go for foreign medical trip if we cannot make our hospital functional?" - Muhammadu Buhari (February 2015, Nigerians in UK)*
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*"Why is the nation?s currency, the Naira, now trading for N180 per Dollar, while the South African Rand is trading at R11 to one United States Dollar?" - Babatunde Raji Fashola (Dec 26, 2014, The Nation)*
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*"Give Nigerians a daily update on the health of President Umaru Yar'Adua to stem the growing rumours surrounding his state of health." - Lai Mohammed (December 21, 2009, The Nation)*
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*"Amaechi is not only clean but a tool to free Nigeria from the corruption imposed on us by those who hate our nation." - APC (October 24, 2016, Vanguard)*
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*"The recent proscription of Boko Haram and Ansaru violates the Constitution." - Lai Mohammed (June 10, 2013, The Nation*

Hadone:
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