Electoral Bill: ‘We Pity Your Ignorance’ — Presidency Reacts To CSOs’ Protest Threat

The Presidency on Monday said the civil society organisations planning to embark on a protest on Tuesday over President Muhammadu Buhari’s delay in assenting to the reworked Electoral Act Amendment Bill are ignorant of provisions of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution.

The State House stated this in response to plans by about 26 civil society groups to stage a protest in the Federal Capital Territory with a view to forcing the president to assent to the bill.

“Some interest groups are cashing in on what they consider a delay in the signing of the Electoral Bill into law by the President to foment civil disorder and muddy the waters.

“It is on record that the amended Bill was sent to the Presidency on January 31, 2022, which means that the Executive could do due diligence on it till March 1, as prescribed by the Constitution,” the presidency said in a statement shared on its Twitter account on Monday.

According to the State House, a proposed legislation such as the Electoral Act Amendment Bill “that has to do with the electoral fortunes of the country needs to be thoroughly scrutinized, and be made as near-perfect as possible.”

It further urged the CSOs to stop playing “cheap politics” while assuring that Buhari would do the needful within the lawful time.

The National Assembly had first transmitted the Electoral Act Amendment Bill to Buhari on November 19, 2021, but the president withdrew assent to it over a provision compelling political parties to use direct primaries for the selection of candidates for elections.

According to Buhari, the provision would lead to a significant spike in the cost of conducting primary elections by parties as well as the increase in the cost of monitoring such elections by INEC.

The National Assembly had reworked the bill and subsequently transmitted it to the president without the compulsory direct primary clause.