…As APC govs lobby AGF to stop President from signing Bill
Six (6) Civil Society Organisations (CSO) partners on electoral matters have applauded the National Assembly for the final passage of the harmonised Electoral Act bill and the resolution directing its Clerk for immediate transmission to the Executive for presidential assent.
The CSOs stated this in a statement made available by the Executive Director, ‘Adopt A Goal for Development Initiative’, Ariyo-Dare Atoye, and endorsed by the ‘Centre for Liberty, Raising New Voices’, ‘Youth and Students Advocates for Development Initiative’ (YSAD), NESSACTION, ‘The Art and Civics Table’ and ‘Speak Out Africa Initiative’ on Wednesday.
They also urged political parties to accept and ensure the success of the exclusive Direct Primary mode retained by the National Assembly in the Bill, noting that it would provide young people and women with the opportunity to contest on their own merit and popularity.
In a related development, governors of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), have begun reaching out to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), with a view to getting him to convince the President to withhold assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill as passed by the National Assembly on Tuesday.
The APC Governors’ Forum is led by Kebbi State governor, Atiku Bagudu. Incidentally, Malami is also from Kebbi State and is rumoured to be nursing a governorship ambition in 2023.
Recall that Bagudu had on Monday spoken out against the clause in the electoral bill, which mandates political parties to adopt the direct primary system. The Kebbi governor had on Monday held a meeting with eight other governors on the platform of the party in Abuja and afterward briefed the media on their decision.
Speaking to newsmen after the meeting, Bagudu stated that political parties should be allowed to pick their system for primaries. He added that holding direct primaries on a large-scale was against the spirit of the Executive Order signed by the President to restrict large gatherings during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He argued that the direct primary system would be too cumbersome for the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), to supervise.
The House of Representatives had stated on Tuesday that it would consider a veto in the event that the President fails to assent to the bill, while members of the Senate expressed the same sentiment.