President Buhari and Electoral Act Amendments

When the National Assembly on November 19, 2021 concluded its review of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and transmitted the bill for the assent of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), majority of discerning Nigerians looked forward to the president’s signature to finalise the review of the law. The expectation was based on the need to suppress the mischief and fill the gaps and loopholes in existing law to pave the way for credible elections. The foundation for the amendments were the challenges that came out of the 2015 and 2019 general elections as well as to ensure that Nigeria benefited from developments in electoral technology and scientific progress.

President Buhari waited until the 30 days, constitutionally allowed for him to assent or decline assent expired, before sending a letter to the National Assembly. In accordance with S.58(4) of the 1999 Constitution: “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.” The president expressed his dissatisfaction with the direct primaries clause in the bill. He stated that “The amendment as proposed is a violation of the underlying spirit of democracy, which is characterised by freedom of choices of which political party membership is a voluntary exercise of the constitutional right of freedom of association.” He cited financial, security and legal reasons centred around direct primaries as his reason for declining assent. From the contents of the letter published in the media, the president did not complain about any other provision of the bill.

Many Nigerians were angry at the president’s refusal to grant assent and urged the National Assembly to override the presidential veto before embarking on their Christmas and New Year break. However, the National Assembly, in its wisdom, did not take that course of action. They left the bill and came back in January 2022 and did exactly what the president requested.  The reworked bill was transmitted to the president for assent before the first day of February 2022. However, there has been no communication from the president since then either to Nigerians or to the National Assembly. Rather, the available information is that he has been consulting some officials/persons as to whether to grant or decline assent. There have even been comments from some state officials indicating that the president may once more decline assent.

There is a lot wrong with the president’s approach in engaging the National Assembly in the enactment of a law of fundamental importance to the strengthening of democracy. It should be recalled that this is not an executive bill and the president had the opportunity during the consideration of the bill to send his views to the legislature either directly or through the Attorney General of the Federation or any other official. Available information indicates that he did not engage at this level. When the bill was sent to him in November 2021, the expectation was that he would have thoroughly gone through the bill and isolated all sections which he finds objectionable. He will now send the bill back to the National Assembly with his recommendations. Thus, if the president is still consulting after his proposed amendment has been reflected, it means that the first period of review in 2021 was wasted.

The president has a history with proposals for the amendment of the Electoral Act 2010. It will be recalled that he declined assent to the Electoral Act on three occasions in the run-up to the 2019 general elections. He will ask for further amendments to the bill and when his proposals have been reflected, he found another excuse to decline assent until he stated that it was too late to amend the law as it was a few months to the election.  The reasons he offered were specious, of no substance and mere excuses to camouflage ingrained resistance to reform. Thus, we are back on the same trajectory and it will be no surprise if he comes up with another reason for further declining assent. If the actual reason for declining assent in the first instance in late 2021 was the issue of direct primaries, all that the president needs to do is to ensure that the amendments have been reflected and nothing else has changed from the original bill presented to him. This would not take more than three days to ascertain and assent to the bill would have been granted in the first week of transmission.

It has, therefore, become imperative for Nigerians to request President Buhari to come clean and declare his real and honest reasons for refusing to grant assent to amendments of the Electoral Act since he came into office in 2015. So far, he appears to be happy with the status quo of flawed elections and democratic stagnation occasioned by the flaws in the law. Otherwise, he would have led electoral reforms.  He cannot continue to obstruct democratic consolidation and thereby sentence Nigeria to underdevelopment. It is evident that the president cannot deliver or take positive actions to improve the economy, security, education, health, etc., however, he owes us a duty not to disrupt the positive actions of other arms of government to strengthen the software of democracy and development. Governance requires honesty of purpose and volition; it is not a game of tricks and baiting other arms of government.

Presidential democracies are built inter alia on the doctrine of checks and balances. The popular expectation is that since the National Assembly has shown good faith to the president and accommodated his undue request for amendment, the legislature should prepare to assert itself, to shake off the rubber stamp toga and to override the president’s veto on the same day that his allowed constitutional time frame elapses. The president is insistent on scoring an own goal and to reap defeat from the jaws of victory.

Whoever is advising the president and playing games on his mind should know that he is already appending his signature on the wrong side of history. For the President, you cannot be heard to plead that your Attorney General or any other person misled you. You are the one whose name appeared on the presidential ballot papers; you went round Nigeria asking for votes. Mr. President, every decision of this administration, positive or negative is credited to you. Therefore, the decision on assent or refusal of assent to this bill and the entire credit or condemnation will be yours.