Following his veto of the fourth amendment made to the Electoral Act 2010 and sent to him last month, President Muhammadu Buhari, in a letter addressed to the Senate President, tagged, โPresidential Decision to Decline Assent to the Electoral Actย (Amendment) Bill, 2018,โ has stated reasons for his action.
He said: โPursuant to Section 58 (4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), l hereby convey to the Senate my decision on the 6th December, 2018 to decline presidential assent to the Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2018 recently passed by the National Assembly.
โI am declining assent to the Bill principally because I am concerned that passing a new Electoral Act this far into the electoral process for the 2019 general election, which commenced under the 2015 Electoral Act, could create some uncertainty about the applicable legislation to govern the process.
โAny real or apparent change to the rules this close to the election may provide an opportunity for disruption and confusion in respect of which law governs the electoral process.
โThis leads me to believe that it is in the best interest of the country and our democracy for the National Assembly to specifically state in the Bill that the Electoral Act will come into effect and be applicable to elections commencing after the 2019 general elections.โ Read more