President Muhammadu Buhari’s signing of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2022 into law has sparked up new controversies.
Buhari insisted that the bill must undergo an amendment to remove what he called a fundamental defect.
The president was referring to Section 84 (12) which, in his opinion, “conflicts with extant constitutional provisions.”
“Section 84 (12) constitutes a disenfranchisement of serving political office holders from voting or being voted for at Conventions or Congresses of any political party for the nomination of candidates for any election in cases where it holds earlier than 30 days to the National Election,” he said yesterday while appending his signature to the bill.
His view attracted applause from some quarters and criticism from others.
Other Nigerians hailed him for signing the bill at all after several years of delay.
The following people applauded the signing of the bill: The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former Senate President Bukola Saraki; and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The presiding officers of the two chambers of the National Assembly also expressed joy at the development although some members of the legislative arm were not keen on amending the act.
However, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), disagreed with the President on his call for the removal of Section 84 (12).
Wike dismissed Buhari’s objection as selfish.
