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BREAKING: Buhari Bends To Public Demands, Signs Electoral Bill Into Law

Published

3 years ago

Feb 25, 2022.

Benard Joseph

President Muhammadu Buhari has yielded to the public demands, signed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2022 into law.
This was disclosed by Bashir Ahmad Personal Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that according to a tweet on Friday by the presidential aide, Bashir Ahmad.

“BREAKING: President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021 into law,” his tweet read.

Sources in the Presidency had said the President would be assenting to the bill around noon today (Friday).

There had been calls on Buhari to sign the bill, with some groups and activists threatening to protest if he failed to sign.

Some Civil Society Organisations protested in Abuja on Tuesday over the alleged delay by the President in signing the bill into law.

The bill is expected to strengthen the electoral process.

Recall that the National Assembly transmitted the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021 to Buhari on January 31 for a second time, after revising the bill.
He had earlier withheld his assent to the bill for some noted reasons.

Recall that a few days ago, the presidency revealed that in a matter of hours, President Muhammadu Buhari will sign the long-awaited Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, disclosed this on Tuesday during an interview with newsmen.
According to Femi, “He (Buhari) will sign it (the bill) any moment from now,” he said while appearing as a guest on a TV programme. “It could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be anytime, but within the 30 days.

“It could be signed today; it could be signed tomorrow. In a matter of hours, not days. Hours could be 24 hours, it could be 48 hours; not days, not weeks.”
This comes nearly a month after lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives chambers of the National Assembly passed the harmonised version of the bill.

Passed on January 25, the bill was transmitted to President Buhari a week after, as confirmed by his Senior Special Assistant on NASS Matters (Senate), Senator Babajide Omoworare.
Weeks after receiving the bill, the President has yet to give his assent – an action that has sparked an outcry from critics who fear he might reject it again.

Defending his principal, Adesina slammed those accusing the President of delaying the signing of the bill, stressing that the Nigerian leader’s action was still within the requirements of the Constitution.
He stated that it would only be appropriate to say President Buhari has acted against the law if exceeds the 30-day window provided by the law.

President Buhari had withheld his assent to the bill since November 2021, citing the cost of conducting direct primary elections, security challenges, and possible manipulation of electoral processes by political players as part of the reasons for his decision.
He, however, gave some conditions to give his assent, prompting the lawmakers to re-work the bill which initially led to the emergence of two versions from the green and red chambers of the assembly.

However, President Buhari has finally assented to the bill.

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