The people’s hope for a better Nigeria was raised, after a plenary meeting held Tuesday by the House of Representatives with the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, assuring Nigerians that despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s communicated veto on the Electoral Act amendment bill, the House will not relent, adding that the issue will be tabled again when they are back from the Christmas holiday.
Commenting specifically on the electoral bill in his speech to set the pace for the House’s winding down of business for the year the Speaker noted that the bill must survive. “By the time we resume next year, we will be closer to the end of our tenures, 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.
Earlier, in a letter written by the President which was read to members at plenary on Tuesday, the President cited some possible challenges inherent in the recommendation for the use of only direct primaries for the election of candidates for electoral offices by political parties.
The Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2021 seeks to amend certain provisions of the extant Electoral Act 2010. Part of the objective of the Bill is the amendment of the present Section 87 of the Electoral Act, 2010 to delete the provision for the conduct of indirect primaries in the nomination of party candidates such that party candidates can henceforth only emerge through direct primaries.
The President noted that after a careful review of the bill, “the pertinent issues implicated as follows to wit: The conduct of direct primaries across the 8,809 wards across the length and breadth of the country will lead to a significant spike in the cost of conducting primary elections by parties as well as increase in the cost of monitoring such elections by INEC who has to deploy monitors across these wards each time a party is to conduct direct primaries for the presidential, gubernatorial and legislative posts…
He explained that the indirect consequences of the issues of high cost and monetization are that it will raise financial crimes and constitute further strain on the economy. According to the President, It will also stifle smaller parties without thé enormous resources required to mobilise all party members for thé primaries, adding, “this is not healthy for the sustenance of multi-party democracy in Nigeria, the process of which will put a strain on the security forces among other things,” He said.