President Muhammadu Buhari has declined assent to the 2021 Electoral Act Amendment bill, stating that signing it into law would cause trouble among the political parties in the country.
According to Vanguard Newspaper the letter of rejection of the bill is now before the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan and is expected to be read on Tuesday at plenary.
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The letter indicates that President Buhari refused to sign the bill, citing the Direct primaries as approved by the National Assembly, the National Assembly for picking candidates by political parties in the amended Electoral Act as dangerous to the political atmosphere.
The president said in the letter that prevailing situation in the country would not allow him to sign the bill, THISDAY reports.
Among other reasons for rejecting the bill, the president cited high cost of conducting direct primaries, the security challenge of monitoring the election, violation of citizens’ rights and marginalization of small political parties.
Buhari said he had received informed advice from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Government, and had also carefully reviewed the Bill in light of the current realities prevalent in the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the circumstances.
The president said that it would be better to allow each political party to determine its mode of selecting candidates for election.
