Again, Governors May  Stop Buhari From Signing Amended Electoral Bill

THE WHISTLER has learnt that there are moves by governors in the country to prevent President Muhammadu Buhari from assenting to the electoral bill forwarded to him few days ago due to a clause perceived as unfavourable to them.

The bill was rejected late last year by President Muhammadu Buhari because it provided only direct primary as the mode of electing party candidates.

The president explained that the bill was undemocratic.

But both chambers of the National Assembly agreed to rework the bill as advised by the president. This was done immediately after resumption of plenary and the reworked bill has now being passed for the president’s assent.

The harmonized version sent to the president provides three options for electing party candidates—direct, indirect and by consensus.

But new clauses introduced into the bill are now threatening the president’s assent.

According to the bill, Section 84(9) (a) provides that, ‘A political party that adopts a consensus candidate shall secure the written consent of all cleared aspirants for the position, indicating their voluntary withdrawal from the race and their endorsement of the consensus candidate’.

Paragraph (b) reads, ‘Where a political party is unable to secure the written consent of all cleared aspirants for the purpose of a consensus candidate, it shall revert to the choice of direct or indirect primaries for the nomination of candidates for the aforesaid elective positions’.

Paragraph (c) provides that, ‘A special convention or nomination congress shall be held to ratify the choice of consensus candidates at designated centres at the national, state, senatorial, federal and state constituencies, as the case may be’.

But of more concern to the governors is the clause that provides that all political office holders at the state and federal levels should resign before the primary election for any elective office they are seeking.

While the governors have not given official statement indicating their opposition, sources have revealed that contacts have been made to the president not to sign the bill into law.

When contacted, Mr AbdulRasaq Bello-Barkindo, Head of Media and Publicity Affairs of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF said, “NGF is a governance institution and politics is not a part of its core mandate areas. Please check us out on our website,” and declined further comment.

A source in the Progressives Governors’ Forum, PGF, which is the platform for all governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, however said there is unanimity among the governors against the new insertion.

According to a source at the PGF’s  office, no meeting has been held for that reason but the feeling is that the bill should not pass.

“Usually, the PGF chairman or with the APC caretaker chairman, who’s also a governor can individually or together convey the view of the governors to the president and lobby for a favourable outcome as you have seen them done.

“But here at the office, there’s no meeting or official statement. Ours is to make the office function,” he said.

A presidency source however said the president has not taken any action on the bill that has been received. noting that there will always be opposition concerning bills.

“We have not heard anything of such, that the governors have moved against the bill. The president has not even done anything about it, to the best of my knowledge.

“What I know is he has received it and it will be processed. But to your question, I don’t have an answer,” he said.

The move by the governors against the new provisions is premised on the fact that some of the appointees are from them and would reduce their influence if they resigned before contesting for elective offices.

This, they reason, is to whittle down their influence, blaming the lawmakers for being hell-bent on giving up something and taking another.

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