Some Senators have vowed to override the veto of President Muhammadu Buhari on the Electoral Act amendment bill.
The President had withheld assent to the bill in a letter which was sent to both chambers of the National Assembly on Tuesday.
In the letter which was read by Senate President Ahmad Lawan and Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, respectively, the President said he would not sign the bill because of the mandatory direct primaries.
He further stated eight disadvantages of mandatory direct primaries which included legal, financial and security concerns.
After Lawan read the letter, the Senator representing Rivers East, George Sekibo, raised a point of order asking the chamber to go behind closed doors to discuss the issue.
The Senate President sustained Sekibo’s point of order and the closed session commenced, lasting for 37 minutes.
Sekibo of the People Democratic Party (PDP) said signatures have been collected from the senators willing to override the president, and the signatures cut across party lines.
He made this known in an interview with Channels Television at the close of plenary on Tuesday.
He said, “By law, we have the power to override him. That’s what Section 58 (4 & 5) said. We will use our powers to do it. And they are saying that people must be present at voting. Our rule gives us three methods of voting: voice vote, by signing the document (signature) and electronic voting. So, we can use anyone. We collected signatures in the chamber and it cuts across party lines.”
The senator later confirmed to Channels Television that they had compiled 73 signatures to veto the President.
A senator, who is a member of the All Progressives Congress, however, said Lawan was not inclined towards overriding the President’s veto and asked them to reconvene on Wednesday.
He said, “Almost everyone who spoke disagreed with the President. However, the Senate President tried to calm nerves and asked that we reconvene on Wednesday. At the moment, he is the only one that seems to be okay with what Buhari did and is reaching out. We want to see how he will stop us tomorrow. This is beyond him because we are fighting a battle of life and death.”
Lawan’s Spokesman, Ola Awoniyi, said, “I have no briefing on that subject, so I cannot make any comment on it.”
Senator Matthew Urhoghide (PDP/Edo-South), while speaking on the President’s rejection of the bill, said the National Assembly would extricate itself from public odium and disrespect by going ahead to override Buhari on Wednesday.
Urhoghide said, “We must be reminded that members of the National Assembly are truly the representatives of the people because every federal constituency and senatorial district seat is allocated to a segment of the Nigerian people who are their constituents.
“The members of the National Assembly consulted with a cross-section of their constituents to reach an informed position on any matter of national interest and development. The issue of direct primaries in our electoral process has been well canvassed, elucidated and argued by both chambers of the NASS, and inputs were taken at public hearing from across the spectrum of all critical stakeholders.”
In a remark, Senator Abba Moro, who is a former Minister of Interior, said the Senate would override the President.
He said, “The reasons given by the President to withhold assent, to my view and the views of the majority of senators, are not enough. This is because all stakeholders have acknowledged the fact that the amended Electoral Act as it is today contains fantastic provisions that could deepen democracy.
“If we reject the amended electoral bill because of direct primaries, then it will be very unfortunate. If it’s because of direct primary the President rejects the will of the people, I can assure you that myself and my colleagues are prepared this time around to override the President.”
The Spokesperson for the Senate, Senator Ajibola Basiru, in an interview with newsmen said the red chamber would follow legal processes to address the President’s action at plenary on Wednesday.
He said, “There are legal processes to follow when the President declines assent to a bill and there are options available to the National Assembly. It is either we agree with the President’s observations and delete those areas he objected to and return the corrected bill back to him.
“Secondly, if the majority of the two chambers, that is the two-thirds, feel that the President’s reasons were not cogent, then they could override him. They could also decide to abandon the bill just like they did in 2015.
“I am not in a position to determine where the pendulum would swing when the matter comes up for deliberation on Wednesday (today)”
Meanwhile, at the House of Representatives, the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, addressed the House, noting that action on the bill would be suspended till when the National Assembly resumes from the Christmas and New Year break.
The House adjourned plenary till January 18, 2022, while the Speaker barred committees from sitting until resumption.
He said, “By the time we resume next year, we will be closer to the end of our tenure, with national elections rapidly approaching. In the past, election years have witnessed a decline in governance activities as political pursuits cloud the calendar. That will not be the case this time around.”
However, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum have supported Buhari for not assenting to the bill, saying his reasons were cogent.