Electoral Act: Agbakoba urges NASS to override Buhari
By Former Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba, has urged the National Assembly to override President Muhammadu Buhari and pass the electoral bill into law.
In a release to the media in Lagos on Monday, Agbakoba noted that the passage of the bill will improve the credibility of the election and give legal basis for Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deploy electronic technology in the conduct of the next year’s general election.
“The decision of the President to withhold assent in respect of a bill to enact a law to amend the Electoral Act makes no sense. The final draft bill considered by NASS, was agreed with the President, precisely to avoid challenges, such as now occurred.
“The President states that part of the reasons he has withheld assent is to avoid confusion as to the applicable legal framework for 2019 elections and the administrative capacity of INEC to cope with the new Electoral Act, as it is all too close to 2019 elections,” he said.
The legal luminary faulted the president’s decision to withhold assent to the electoral bill even when INEC had expressed its readiness to use card reader in the conduct of the general election, adding that President Buhari’s decision will create controversy and confusion in the polity, while further undermining the credibility of the general election.
“The President claims that part of the reasons for withholding assent, is that INEC will not have enough time to become familiar with the 2018 Bill and that a new Act will generate confusion. This is simply incorrect and flies in the face of INEC’s announcement that it will not use Incident Forms or manual voting in 2019 elections,” he stated.
According to him, “INEC is ready to deploy electronic technology for 2019 elections, and only requires that the Electoral Act provides a legal framework.
“The 2018 Amendments will help to improve the credibility of our elections and also give legal basis for INEC to deploy electronic technology in 2019 elections, following doubts cast by the Supreme Court about the legality of the use of card readers because it was not provided in the old Electoral Act of 2010. Distinguished and Honourable Members of NASS, are pleased urged to override President and enact 2018 Electoral Act”.
Iniobong Iwok