Buhari Declines Assent To Electoral Bill, Gives Reasons

President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly failed to sign the 2021 Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law.

According to a report on Vanguard, President stated reasons he declined assent to the bill in a letter forwarded to Senate President Ahmad Lawan, which will be read during Tuesday plenary.

The newspaper quoted a source as saying that one of the reasons given by the President is that assenting to the bill would cause trouble among the political parties in the country.

According to the source, another reason given by the President is that the direct primaries mode of picking candidates by political parties in the amended Electoral Act was dangerous to the political atmosphere.

The source added that the President supported parties conducting their primaries either directly or Indirectly, adding that their various constitutions support such provisions.

He stated that the President also rejected the bill due to the fact that direct primaries would mean forcing the party

According to the source, Buhari has returned the bill to the National Assembly and asked the lawmakers to work on the clause that has to do with direct primaries and return the document for assent.

Recall that the Presidency had said that President Buhari will take a final decision on assenting to the Electoral Act 2010 (Amendment) Bill soon.