- The House of Representatives has said that it would override President Muhammadu Buhari's veto concerning the amendment of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill
- Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had said that it would stick to the previous timetable for the 2019 elections, not the one revised by the House
- Yakubu also stated that unless there is a new law that orders the commission to change the timetable for the elections, the status quo will be maintained
The House of Representatives on Wednesday, February 28, stated that lawmakers would not hesitate to override President Muhammadu Buhari’s veto if he refused to agree with the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
The House said it would remain firm on the bill, especially the provision on the re-ordering of the 2019 elections. A controversial new Section 25 introduced into the Act, changed the sequence of elections by making the National Assembly elections to come first while the presidential poll will now come last, the Punch reports.
The amendment had passed in both the Senate and the House and its now awaiting Buhari’s assent. However, in the elections timetable already released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), before the amendment was passed, the presidential election was supposed to be the first.
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Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of INEC, had said on Monday, February 26, that the commission would continue with its timetable not the one revised by the National Assembly.
Yakubu, who spoke at a consultative forum with the media in Abuja, had said that so long as there was no new law in operation, INEC would stick to its timetable. He remarked: “If something happens tomorrow, we will examine it and proceed accordingly.
“Right now, the draft is on my table based on the current schedule of activities. Thereafter, we will submit it to the approving authorities.”
In his conversation with newsmen the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazak Namdas, said members would not change their minds on the amended Electoral Act.
He said: “We are serious about this issue and we are not ready to reverse it. For now, the bill has gone to Mr. President and we are waiting for his response. If his response is that he won’t sign, we are ready to override his veto.
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“I can assure you that in both chambers of the National Assembly, we will get the required two-thirds majority to override the veto. This is because this was an issue that the two chambers already agreed that the order of elections should be National Assembly first and presidential election last.”
Namdas remarked that the INEC chairman was correct to have said that no law so far ordered the commission to reshuffle the timetable already in place.
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He further said: “He is right to say so because the new bill has yet to become law. It is the decision of the President that will decide our next step. If he signs, there is a new law and INEC has no choice but to comply. If he doesn’t sign, we will override his veto and the assent will no longer be necessary.”
Earlier, NAIJ.com reported that a member of the House of Representatives, Douye Diri on Monday, February 12, disclosed why National Assembly changed the sequence of elections ahead of the 2019 elections.
NAIJ.com gathered that Diri declared that the House changed to stop other candidates from riding on the popularity of President Muhammadu Buhari to win their own contests.
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Source: Naija.ng
