There were
strong indications on Saturday evening that the Senate would, this week, begin
the process to override President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to withhold his
assent to the 2018 Electoral Act amendment bill.
Senate
spokesperson, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, had told the Media that the red chamber
had rejected Buhari’s reasons for declining assent to the legislation and would
do everything possible to override his action.
A
cross-section of the senators, who spoke with SUNDAY PUNCH on the issue on
Saturday, vowed to make Buhari’s position a major issue on resumption of
plenary on Tuesday.
They vowed
to ensure that to ensure that all the amendments made to the new electoral act
formed part of what the Independent National Electoral Commission would comply
with in the conduct of the 2019 polls.
But there
are other indications that as Senate President Bukola Saraki and the Speaker,
House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, prepare to read the letter to members
in plenary at their respective chambers on Tuesday, the lawmakers are set for a
stormy debate on the matter.
SUNDAY PUNCH
can authoritatively report that Buhari’s decision has polarised members of the
National Assembly across political lines.
While
members of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, have expressed
their support for the President, those of the opposition PDP alleged an
ulterior motive behind the withholding of the assent by the President.
Already, the
Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan and Senator
Biodun Olujimi, separately told SUNDAY PUNCH on Saturday that the matter would
be discussed when the lawmakers reconvene, after which a decision would be
taken on the bill.
Olujimi told
SUNDAY PUNCH that the federal parliament approved the huge budget proposed by
the INEC for the election because of the anticipated electronic voting being
planned by the electoral umpire.
Olujimi
said, “This is because 70 per cent of the INEC budget has to do with the
funding of card readers and other equipment needed for the election.
“We are
going back to the chamber on Tuesday to look at the reasons for the President’s
rejection and we will do our best to override his assent because the Electoral
Act (amendments) bill is the best thing that can happen to our election in
Nigeria.
“It is not
only the opposition senators who would override the President. We would work on
our colleagues in the ruling APC, most of whom are disgruntled that their party
denied them tickets to return to the Senate.”
Another
senator from the North-West geopolitical zone, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, also corroborated the position of Olujimi, describing Buhari’s
reasons as untenable.
He said, “It
is possible that we start the process to override the President’s assent when
we resume on Tuesday. I can assure you that it will be on the front burner of
our proceedings. It will be a major issue and I am very sure that it is going
to generate a lot of debate.
“If you look
at the equation these days, many of our colleagues don’t come to the National
Assembly again because of campaigns. So, it is really not impossible to get
two-thirds majority to override the President’s assent.
“If the
decision to override the President did not take place on Tuesday, it will
certainly be done on Wednesday when we would enjoy the privilege of the NTA
live coverage of our proceedings.”
Also, a
senator from the South-East geopolitical zone, who also spoke off record,
alleged that Buhari withheld assent to the bill because he did not want the
usage of card readers in the North where a lot of Permanent Voter Card had
allegedly been procured for underage voters.
The senator
stated, “If INEC should make use of the card reader in northern Nigeria, we
would demystify their bogus claims that they have the majority of voters in
that part of the country.
“They can
write any figure and declare it if there is no electronic accreditation of
voters. The moment the ‘already-biased’ INEC officials signed the fraudulent
election result sheets, we would not be able to do anything on them.”
But a
prominent member of the ruling APC caucus in the Senate, Kabiru Marafa, said
the moves by his colleagues in the opposition parties to override Buhari on the
issue this week would fail.
Marafa
argued that the opposition lawmakers did not have the required number to form
the two-thirds majority needed to achieve their aim.
He added,
“How will they get us to support their action when we already agree that the
reasons given by President Muhammadu Buhari were genuine and reasonable?
“INEC, at
the moment, has a lot of issues to contend with. Why should we overburden them
with new amendments that would make its works more cumbersome? Why can’t we
wait till after the 2019 elections before we introduce new electoral laws?”
Marafa also
disagreed with his opposition colleagues who claimed that Buhari rejected the
new law in order to give room for unqualified voters to vote.
He said,
“Why are they unnecessary jittery now over the use of the card reader. I am
beginning to think that those who are agitating now have some ulterior motive.
The 2015 election was successful because of card reader.”
Marafa also
faulted Olujimi’s claims that the INEC budget was approved based on the
assumption that card readers and other electronic gadgets would be massively
deployed in the elections by the electoral agency.
He said, “I
disagree with Senator Olujimi completely on that issue. INEC budget was huge
because of the insecurity in the country. Most of the funds would be expended
on security personnel to ensure a hitch-free exercise.
“I challenge
her to come up with her figures and prove me wrong. There could be some
calculated attempts in some quarters to sabotage the entire process; otherwise,
I don’t understand the attack on the President for postponing the
implementation of the law till after the general elections.”
Another APC
lawmaker, Senator Ali Ndume, dismissed the claim by Murray-Bruce that the
Senate would veto the President.
Ndume added,
“You quoted Ben Murray-Bruce as saying that the Senate was going to veto. Who
gave him the right to speak on behalf of the Senate? Even if you are the
Vice-Chairman of the Media and Public Affairs Committee, you don’t just go and
talk on behalf of the Senate.
“Let it be
on record that he did not speak on my behalf. The letter from Mr President has
not even been read and it has not been deliberated upon. His responsibility is
to speak on behalf of the Senate, but if he is speaking for himself, that is a
different thing.
“He went on
to say that they are going to veto it. Where are they going to get the numbers
(two-thirds) to veto it?”
Stormy
debate loom
When our
correspondent asked the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan, to speak on
Buhari’s decision, he said, “When I return to Abuja. I spoke about this even
before now. When I return to Abuja.”
Speaking
with one of our correspondents again on Saturday, Murray-Bruce said, “First of
all, we think it is a mistake not to sign the bill. We think Buhari should have
signed it. We want the APC senators and all Nigerians to understand that that
bill is the right thing to do at this period of our national life.
“We will do
everything possible to work with progressive APC senators to get the right
number of votes to override it. We will override it.”
Another PDP
lawmaker, Senator Rafiu Ibrahim, dismissed Buhari’s reason for withholding his
assent.
Ibrahim
said, “We all know and we have already been saying that he was afraid of
signing the bill majorly because it will make the election to be more
transparent. This bill is all about processes; it is not going to disrupt
anything. It is about card reader, agents having some rights, parties having
the right to some information and determining certain things about electoral
materials.”
But the
Secretary of the Parliamentary Support Group, a body of the APC lawmakers in
the National Assembly backing Buhari’s interests, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, said
while the President had the right to sign or withhold assent to a bill, the
lawmakers also had options they could consider.
“But from
what I have read, his reasons are very genuine. Like I have always maintained,
Mr President has always supported this bill.
“It is the
usual ‘town crying’ of the PDP particularly. Let me say that PDP is scared
because they were used to rigging when they were in government. We are in
government now and they think everybody will be the same. If you are not a
rigger, why are you talking about rigging when the election has not been
conducted?”
Punch/Sahara
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