Senators In Closed-door Session Over Electoral Bill

Following the rejection of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill by President Muhammadu Buhari, members of the Senate have entered a closed-door session to deliberate on the next line of action.

The lawmakers entered the session at exactly 10.36 am on Wednesday after the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan called for an Executive session to discuss Buhari’s letter sent to the National Assembly.

Ezenwoko’s Blog gathered that the senators will be discussing whether to override President Buhari’s veto on the Electoral Act Amendment bill.

Recall that President Buhari failed to sign the bill into law due to the compulsory use of direct primary to pick candidates.

In a letter sent to the National Assembly, Buhari said his decision to withhold assent to the bill was based on advice from the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA).

The President added that assenting to the bill may open up the electoral system to a series of litigations from party members and stakeholders.

He said that the adoption of direct primaries violates the spirit of democracy and would fuel corruption as well as encourage the monetization of elections.

The President asserted that signing the bill into law would have serious adverse legal, financial, economic and security consequences on the country, particularly in view of Nigeria’s peculiarities.

He added that it would also impact negatively the rights of citizens to participate in the government as constitutionally ensured.

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