The Bill titled “A Bill for an Act to amend the Electoral Act, 2022 and for Related Matters,” was sponsored by the member representing Ughelli North/Ughelli South/Udu Federal Constituency, Delta State, Mr Francis Waive.

Presenting the Bill, Waive lamented the gaps in the Electoral Act 2022, noting that an amendment of the law to pave the way “for the electronic transmission of results would help the nation’s democracy.”

He also called for the review of the voter register every ten years.

“A review of the voter register every 10 years will be a good starting point,” he said.

Before assenting to the amended Electoral Act on Friday, February 25, President Muhammadu Buhari asked the National Assembly to delete Section 84(12), which bars political appointees from participating in party conventions and congresses for the election of party officials and electoral candidates.

The section states, “No political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the convention or congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.”

The President noted that it had introduced qualification and disqualification criteria that were ultra vires to the constitution by importing blanket restriction and disqualification to serving political office holders of which they were constitutionally accorded protection.

While rejecting the section, Buhari said, “The practical application of Section 84(12) of the Electoral Bill, 2022 will, if assented to, by operation of law, subject serving political office holders to inhibitions and restrictions referred to under sections 40 and 42 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

“It is imperative to note that the only constitutional expectation placed on serving political office holders that qualify, by extension as public officers within the context of the constitution, is resignation, withdrawal or retirement at least 30 days before the date of the election.”

Speaking to State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said the government had three options available, which are asking the National Assembly for reconsideration, approaching the court or accepting the law as it was.

Malami revealed that while it was the responsibility of the lawmakers to make laws, the Federal Government would exploit all the available options if necessary.

He, however, said the government had yet to decide on the way forward on the issue.

The AGF stated, “The government has a lot of options to consider and exploit. One of the options is to demand the National Assembly to reconsider the section of the law. The other option is to look at it within the context and spirit of the law and see what it can do. And all these portions are on the table.

“No position has been conclusively taken on the part of the government. The government is reviewing; the government is looking and the government will come up with a position at the appropriate time if the need for further action is required. If there is no further need for such an action, the government will take it as presented.

“But no position has been taken by the government as of today with particular regard to what needs to be done on the part of the executive arising from the provisions of the Electoral Act in respect to which issues of conflict with the constitution were raised.”

Section 84 (12) prevents political office holders from contesting for election from the party primary level without resigning.

The bill had scaled the first reading on Tuesday, despite a court order barring the Senate from acting on it.

The request was rejected after Senator Yahaya Abdullahi made the lead debate for the second reading of the bill on Wednesday.

The Senators kicked against it and voted no when put to voice votes by the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a ruling on an ex parte application filed by the Peoples Democratic Party, agreed that the Electoral Act had become a valid law and could not be tampered with without following due process.

Justice Ekwo held that the proper place  to challenge validity of any existing law was in a court of competent jurisdiction.

The PDP, through its counsel, James Onoja (SAN), sued the  President along with the others challenging what it described as a bid to tinker with the newly amended Electoral Act.

The AGF as well as the Senate President, Speaker, House of Representatives, Clerk of National Assembly, Senate Leader, House of Representatives Leader and Independent National Electoral Commission, were named as defendants in the suit, NAN reports.

Also joined as defendants in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/247/2022 were Deputy Senate President, Deputy Speaker, Deputy Senate Leader and Deputy Leader, House of Representatives.

The party prayed the court for an order of interim injunction restraining the president and other defendants from refusing to implement the duly signed Electoral Act.

The PDP also applied for an order of the court stopping the National Assembly from giving effect to the  President’s request to remove Section 84 (12) from the Electoral Act or take any step that would make the provision inoperative pending the resolution of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.

The hearing of the matter has been fixed for March 21, NAN reports.

Chairman of the committee, Aisha Dukku, at the plenary, who submitted the report prayed the House to receive the report on ‘A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Electoral Act No. 6, 2010, and Enact the Electoral Act 2021, to Regulate the Conduct of Federal, State and Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory Elections; and for Related Matters.’

The bill was referred to the committee on November 24, 2020.

It is expected the report will be considered for passage at plenary on Thursday before the House embarks on its annual summer vacation.

Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila has assured the House will pass the bill before its summer break.

Lawan stated this following the reports in sections of the media that the clause that deals with empowering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit election results electronically has been hijacked by the All Progressives Congress (APC) parliamentarians.

The Senate President described those behind the theory as mischief and rabble-rousers, insisting the report was being laid on the floor of the Senate for the first time.

His outburst followed the presentation of the report by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Kabir Gaya on Wednesday.

Key among the clauses said to have been surreptitiously introduced into the Bill was the ban on electronic transmission of election results by INEC.

He lamented that following the publication of his phone number and that of the Speaker, Femi Gbajabimila on social media, he received over 900 short messages (SMS) on his phone in one day.

Lawan maintained: “There are various allegations and insinuations that the leadership of the Senate and by implication, the National Assembly has some time tampered with the report of the Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of both Chambers.

“Those accusing the leadership of the National Assembly are misinformed and they are mischievous and rabble routers.

“The report was being laid for the first time.”

“This is the decision of the Committee and it will be discussed and considered.

” This report has been presented here and if anybody feels anything strong, should lobby distinguished Senators to take his position rather than blackmail the leadership because my telephone line was published and in one day I received over 900 SMS messages, saying we have manipulated it. We didn’t.

“We will do what is right. We have our procedures. And lobbying is part of democracy.”

The report of the Senate Committee on INEC on the Electoral Act (amendment) Bill is expected to be considered tomorrow (Thursday) by the Senate.

The joint Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the House Committee on Electoral Matters are currently holding a one day public hearing.

The public hearing which is well attended by the joint Committee members and Civil Society Groups will holistically look at the 2010 Electoral Act with a view to amending it.

Sources from Civil Society Groups indicate they would be demanding that candidates must be graduates to qualify and that INEC’s must handle the processes of elections more transparently than it is at the moment.

Recall that the Electoral Act was similarly amended by the 8th Senate which was not assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari for undisclosed reasons before the end of that session.