Electoral Bill: We Opted For Direct Primary To Save APC From Undemocratic Forces – Senator Adamu Aliero
All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator representing Kebbi State Central, Adamu Aliero, has said that the Direct Primary clause was inserted in the new Electoral Bill so as to save the APC from the strong hold of undemocratic forces.
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WazobiaReporters reports that the Senator said the undemocratic forces succeeded in hijacking the party during the recently concluded congresses.
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Senator Aliero said “Unless direct primaries are done there will be mass exodus of our party supporters to other parties.”
This has further brought to the fore the main reason the Direct Primary clause was inserted in the Electoral Bill.
The National Assembly had on Tuesday, 9th November, 2021 passed the much anticipated Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021 after both the Senate and the House of Representatives deliberated extensively on the report of the Conference Committee on the bill.
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The Senate had on that day, passed the harmonized version of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
The passage followed the consideration of the report of the Conference Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on the bill.
In line with customary legislative procedures, the two chambers had in September set up Conference Committees to reconcile disparity in the versions of the bill as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Consequently, the National Assembly had on November 19, 2021 transmitted the bill to President Buhari for assent in line with Section 58(4) of the 1999 Constitution that ” Where a bill is presented to the President for assent, he shall within 30 days thereof signify that he assents or that he withholds assent.”
With the expiration of the date for assent, the next line of action as the bill has not been returned to the National Assembly is for the Senators and members of the House of Representatives to as a matter of urgency override Buhari’s Veto, just as if the President writes to both chambers of the National Assembly to express his reservations about the Electoral Act 2010 Amendment Bill, it means he has withheld his assent and cast doubt on the rationality of the lawmakers to review or amend the contentious provisions of the Act.
What this connotes in Legislative processes is that the president has vetoed the bill and at this stage, the National Assembly is now in a position to override the veto by two-thirds of its members at separate sittings.
