President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to assent to the 2018 Electoral Act Amendment Bill transmitted to him by the 8th National Assembly is still generating ripples. But can the National Assembly override his veto? TOPE SUNDAY asks in this report.
In the last couple of days, the refusal of the President to assent to the Electoral Act sent to him by the National Assembly has been dominating the discourse and this development means so many things to so many Nigerians. To members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the president has acted well, while members of the leading
opposition parties, particularly, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), see the development as an attempt to rig the 2019 general elections.
However, the development seems to have taken a new dimension with the threat issued by some opposition members in the National Assembly that they will override the president’s veto on the 2018 Electoral Act
Amendment Bill. How far can they go?
Buhari’s rejections
The recent refusal of the president to assent the amended electoral act is not the first time. He had, in March this year, rejected the proposed amendments to the Electoral Act on the premise that the amendment made to the sequence of the election may infringe on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organise,
undertake and supervise elections.
In a letter addressed to Speaker of House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, the president had said: “Pursuant to Section 58(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), I hereby convey to the Senate, my decision, on 3rd March 2018, to decline Presidential Assent to the Electoral Amendment Bill 2018, recently passed by the National Assembly.
“Some of my reasons include the following: The amendment to the sequence of elections in Section 25 of the Principal Act, may infringe upon the constitutionally guaranteed discretion of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organise, undertake and supervise elections provided in Section 15(A) of the third statue to
the Constitution; the amendment to Section 138 of the Principal Act to delete two crucial grounds upon which an election may be challenged by candidates, unduly limits the rights of candidates in elections to a free and fair electoral review process; the amendment to Section 152 Sub-section 325 of the Principal Act may raise Constitutional issues over the competence of the National Assembly to legislate over local government elections.”
Also, in August, this year, Buhari again vetoed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2018, citing drafting issues, which he said might affect the interpretation and application of the Principal Act.
The president in separate communications to the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, also admitted some of the provisions of the Bill would adversely affect the operations of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In the same spirit, President Buhari also declined his assent to the bill in this month with an argument that signing it now will disrupt the 2019 General Elections.
In his separate letters to Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, President canvassed that with only few months to the 2019 General Elections, if a new electoral law comes into being, there would be a lot of uncertainty.
“Any real or apparent change to the rules this close to election may provide an opportunity for disruption and confusion in respect to which law governs the electoral process. This 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, Buhari said in the
letters dated December 6, 2018.”
The president also made observations on some technicalities contained in the bill, saying Section 5 of the Bill, which seeks to amend Section 18 of the Principal Act should indicate the sub-section to which the substitution of the figure “30” or the figure ”60” is to be effected.
“Section 11 of the Bill, amending Section 36, should indicate the sub-section in which the proviso is to be introduced.
“Section 24 of the Bill, which amends Section 85 (1) should be redrafted in full as the introduction of the “electing” to the sentence may be interpreted to mean the political parties may give 21 days’ notice of the intention to merge, as opposed to the 90 days provided in Section 87 (2) of the Electoral Act, which provides the provision for merger of political parties.
“The definition of the term ‘Ward Collection Officer’ should be revised to reflect a more descriptive definition than the capitalised and undefined term “Registration Area Collation Officer.’’
The controversy
The latest rejection of the Bill by the president is generating heated debates across the country. Consequently, both members of the APC and the opposition have engaged one another in accusations and counter accusations.
Firing the first salvo, the PDP Presidential Campaign Council in a statement by the Director, Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the legislative action has become imperative as the President’s decision is “a calculated attempt to hold the nation to ransom, inject crisis into the electoral process and ultimately scuttle the conduct
of the 2019 general elections.
He said: “President Buhari’s repeated refusal to sign amendments passed to check rigging of election, raises issues of his sincerity of purpose and has the capacity to trigger political unrest and violence, which can, in turn, truncate our hard-earned democracy. The PPCO invites Nigerians to note that this is the fourth time President Buhari is withholding assent on the amendment, without any cogent reason following his rejection by Nigerians.
“Nigerians can recall how the Presidency plotted to plunge the 2019 elections into a needless controversy by delaying the submission of the election budget to the National Assembly, presenting it at the time the legislators were commencing their annual vacation and asking for virement of funds already approved for development projects,
instead of sending a fresh supplementary budget for the election.
“It is unfortunate that Mr. President, in his desperation to hold on to power, has resorted to taking steps that are capable of destabilising our nation, just because the people are resolute in voting him out of office democratically. It is also instructive to note that President Buhari is mortally afraid of the amendments because they essentially checked the All Progressives Congress, APC, rigging plans, including the use of underage and alien voters,
vote-buying, alteration of results and manipulation of voter register.”
But in return, the Director of Media of the Buhari Campaign Organisation, Festus Keyamo, SAN, said the inclusion of some ‘suspicious’ provisions into the Electoral Act Amendment Bill remains a rationale behind the President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision not to assent the Bill.
Marshaling his point, the Buhari campaign spokesperson, said “electronic transmission of results across Nigeria won’t work at the moment because most parts of the country, especially the rural areas, still have no access to the Internet.
What the Law says
Section 58 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, provides for the mode of exercising legislative power in general as follows: The power of the National Assembly to make laws shall be exercised by bills passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives and, except as otherwise provided by subsection (5) of this section, assented to by
the President; a bill may originate in either the Senate or the House of Representatives and shall not become law unless it has been passed and, except as otherwise provided by this section and section 59 of this Constitution, assented to in accordance with the provisions of this section; where a bill has been passed by the House in which it
originated, it shall be sent to the other House, and it shall be presented to the President for assent when it has been passed by that other House and agreement has been reached between the two Houses on any amendment made on it.
Where a bill is presented to the President for assent, he shall within thirty days thereof signify that he assents or that he withholds assent; where the President withholds his assent and the bill is again passed by each House by two-thirds majority, the bill shall become law and the assent of the President shall not be required.
However, Section 9 (1) (2) of the Constitution provided an additional process where it involves Constitutional amendment thus: The National Assembly may, subject to the provision of this section, alter any of the provisions of this Constitution; an Act of the National Assembly for the alteration of this Constitution, not being an Act to which
section 8 of this Constitution applies, shall not be passed in either House of the National Assembly unless the proposal is supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of all the members of that House and approved by resolution of the Houses of Assembly of not less than two-thirds of all the states.
How far can NASS go?
The debate reached the crescendo with the threat by some members of the House Representatives to override the president’s veto over his refusal to sign the bill into law.
While argument lasts, the member representing Yagba East/Yagba West/Mopa-Muro federal constituency of Kogi state, Sunday Karimi, declared: “The Bill has been highly politicised. We might not be able to get the required numbers to veto. To ensure a free, fair transparent election, we need the new electoral bill signed into law.”
In showing solidarity, the APC caucus in the House of Representatives on Friday, announced its support for refusing to assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, noting that the National Assembly can’t override the president because the draft bill sent to him is imperfect.
“It was one or two-point agenda meeting. What is on the front and centre right now in our discourse is the electoral amendment bill, which the president has not signed and there are calls for us to veto it. Perhaps, a lot of people don’t understand the import and the implications of signing an imperfect document.
“The document is imperfect and you can read it or interpret it anyhow and if count was removed when it should’ve been there, then you can’t even override that imperfect document. You have to first amend that
document and start the process all over again and then send it back to Mr. President’’, the Leader of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, said.
To this end, two Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SAN, Professor Awa Kalu and Prof. Mohammed M. Akanbi, disclosed that it would be difficult task for the National Assembly to override President Muhammadu Buhari’s veto on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill (2018).
In their separate interviews with Blueprint Weekend, they contended that the lawmakers do not have the amble time to initiate the process of overriding the president.
Kalu, a former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Abia state, said: “If we have a robust National Assembly, it can pass the bill into law, even though it is not quite too often that the legislature will override the chief executive, but the provision is there in the Constitution. “There is time limit for the legislature to wait for the presidential assent. If that assent is not forthcoming, they know what to do at the National Assembly. If they can’t do it, then let us proceed with what we have.
“If there is no amendment to the Electoral Act or further amendment to the Electoral Act, what it means is that the Electoral Act 2010 remains in force. And that implies that failure to accept will make it impossible to hold the 2019 general elections. That is the way I look at it.”
He added: “There is nothing to interpret. There is always a reason accompanying the refusal of assent. The president will give you reason. And if, as a legislature, you want that amendment to work, you either look at the reason that has been forwarded, and adjust in line with the reasons or you go back, look at the refusal to assent and override it and the Bill becomes Law automatically. But as I said,overcoming the president’s refusal in whatever country is always an
uphill task.”
Similarly, Professor Akanbi, a former Dean, Faculty of Law at the University of Ilorin, said: “The president can refuse to sign a bill or some aspects of it into Law. He has a power of veto which he can exercise by withholding his signature.
“However, the refusal and the reason for it must be communicated to the National Assembly within the 30 days. If he National Assembly agrees with the president, the Bill can be withdrawn for re-deliberation. Being the fourth time that the president is refusing to give his assent, this may not go down with the National Assembly and they may decide to overrule the veto of the president. After 30 days of the refusal of the president to sign the Bill, the two
chambers can recall the Bill and re-pass it.
“If the Bill is passed in the form it was sent to the president by two-third majority votes in both Chambers, the Bill automatically becomes a Law even without the signature of the president. By virtue of Section 58(5), if the president refuses to give his assent, and the National Assembly feels very strongly about its position on the Bill,
the Law provides that the national parliament can override the president’s objection by a 2/3 majority.
“However, the challenge here is that the process may not be completed before the national elections because of the shortness of time.