Don’t Delay, Sign Electoral Bill Now – PDP Governors Tells Buhari


Pix Courtesy of Cable News

Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the revised electoral act amendment bill into law without further delay.

The governors made the demand among other requests in a communique on Monday after a meeting in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa capital.

The revised bill was transmitted to the president on January 31, following the rejection of the earlier bill.

President Muhammadu Buhari had declined assent to the bill, on which he cited concerns over the recommendation of direct primaries for political parties.

The president also said compulsory direct primary for political parties “violates the spirit of democracy”.

The amendment bill was reworked and the clause was later removed by both chambers of the national assembly and the lawmakers introduced a clause allowing political parties to elect their candidates using direct, indirect or consensus methods.

Speaking on the development, the PDP governors, in a communique read by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, said the president should sign the bill into law immediately rather than wait for the 30 days duration allowed by the constitution to elapse.

They urged Mr President “to immediately sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law. Waiting to run out the 30 days is yet another sign of unwillingness by Mr President to give Nigeria a reformed electoral framework. If there are still misgivings on any aspect of the bill, amendments may be introduced at a later stage,”

The Governors also frowned at “the duplicity, inconsistency, insincerity of the APC-led federal government on the fuel subsidy regime, which has been badly and corruptly administered. The figures of consumption ascribed to Nigerians appear fictitious and bloated. We call for a proper investigation to be conducted on this matter.”

“The Forum welcomed the court decision on Police Trust Fund deductions from the federation account, a suit at the instance of Rivers State, and urged the federal government to stop similar unconstitutional deductions from the federation account.

“In the same vein, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission should expedite action on the new Revenue Allocation formula in such a way as to increase allocation to states and local government.

The opposition party governors also asked the national assembly to use the ongoing constitutional amendment to ensure that more powers are delegated to states and local governments.


Comments

  1. Joe Adejola15 February 2022 at 02:55

    It is high time the President signed the Bill especially now that electioneering season is around the corner.

    Well done for the prompt report

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chima15 February 2022 at 09:48

    Good one

    ReplyDelete

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