On Thursday, the National Assembly ignored a warning by Abubakar Malami (SAN), Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, that he would oppose the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill if it was based on self-interest.
Senator Ajibola Basiru, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, described Malami as a political appointee who could not speak for President Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) on institutional concerns such as the bill.
Basiru was responding to a recent interview with Malami, in which the minister stated that if the modified bill’s features were seen to be self-serving, Buhari would not sign it.
The Only Reason Buhari Will Not Sign Electoral Bill – Malami
The AGF had warned that if the bill was seen as proposing rules based on personal interests, Buhari would refuse to sign it.
According to the minister, the bill was only sent to him on Monday for legal opinion after the National Assembly forwarded it to the Presidency for the second time on Monday last week.
“Certainly, if I am not satisfied and if I am of the opinion that it is against the public interest, the national interest, and then against the dictates of democratic process, I would advise accordingly,” Malami said when asked if he would advise the President to reject the amended bill if he was not satisfied with the new version.
“However, one thing I can tell you is that we are all interested in leaving a legacy of enduring democracy; a democracy that accommodates the Nigerian state’s collective interests and, in the end, serves the national interest, national development, and the democratic process.”
“So, with these thoughts of strengthening democracy; with these considerations of national and public interest, we will undoubtedly do whatever it takes to bring democracy to the next level.”
“I cannot be reacting to Malami,” Basiru stated in a phone interview with Newsmen on Wednesday.
Allow the President to speak first, and we will answer (to Buhari). I am a member of the National Assembly, which is an institution. We don’t have the same level of understanding. We may respond as an institution if the President speaks.
Why I Won’t Sign Electoral Act Amended Bill Into Law – Buhari
“The executive, led by the President, the National Assembly (legislature), and the judiciary are the three branches of government. I speak on behalf of the Senate, which is a legal entity, therefore I can’t answer to a President’s appointment; I can’t respond to Malami. We can only answer to letters from the President (Buhari) that has been authenticated by him; we cannot respond to a presidential appointee.
Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu, in his response, said the minister might need to define what he meant by ‘selfish interest’. According to him, the parliament was guided by national interest in the consideration and passage of the bill.
Kalu said, “I don’t know his definition of ‘selfish interest’, of course, it is not a tool in making laws for the country. But public interest is the instrument used in making laws, not selfish interest. And the only way that you can measure public interest is through the steps outlined by our laws, one of which is public hearing or stakeholders’ engagement.
“Another one is consensus or majority opinion of the parliament on an issue, reflective of the opinion of the people that they (lawmakers) represent. If the majority of those in the parliament are for a particular position, it means that those who have asked them (lawmakers) to represent them are speaking with one voice. That is how you measure public interest.”
The House’ spokesman also stated that the opinions and interests of the Independent National Electoral Commission, political parties, governors, civil society organisations and other public stakeholders in the bill could not have been considered to be selfish.
After One Week Of Re-submission of Amended Electoral Bill, Buhari Yet To Accent His Signature To It
A senior official in the National Assembly, who spoke on condition of anonymity, corroborated the Senate’s spokesman, saying, “If he, as an appointee of the President, made an observation, until that observation is formalised by the institution that he represents, which is the Presidency, we cannot give much attention to it until it comes from the institution.”
The source added, “If Mr. President finds out that there is an element of selfish interest, he will communicate that to us and we will look at it. Not that Malami will tell us, the President will communicate directly to us.”
Anaedoonline.ng had reported in December that the President had rejected the last electoral bill mainly on the advice of Malami.
Recently, there were reports that some members of the cabal in the Presidency were opposed to some provisions of the bill.
According to the reports, they are not comfortable with the provision which mandates appointees to resign before the primaries of their parties.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives had reworked the electoral bill for the second time by concurring on consensus candidacy and setting fresh conditions for political parties in the nomination of candidates for elections.
Buhari, last year, had vetoed the electoral bill and sent it back to the National Assembly over the restriction of political parties to direct primary, insisting on the direct or indirect.
SENATE PASSES ELECTORAL BILL ACT INTO LAW
The House had amended Clause Section 87 of the Electoral Act 2010, which is Clause 84 of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, by inserting the indirect primary option.
The Senate, however, not only added indirect primary, but also consensus adoption of candidates for elections by a political party.
By passing different amendments to the bill, the Senate and the House were expected to refer the versions to a conference committee to harmonise the differences and report back for final passage and transmission to the President for assent.
However, both the Senate and the House of Representatives took a shorter route by rescinding their decisions on the amendments last week and re-amending the electoral bill.
This time, the House concurred with the Senate on the consensus, while both chambers passed the same conditions set for the option.
Electoral Bill: Buhari Lobbied Not To Accent To Bill By APC Govs – PDP Lawmakers Revealed
The President had said in his interview with Channels TV on January 5, 2022, that he would sign the bill once the mandatory direct primary clause was removed.
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