By Emmanuel Nduka
The Nigerian Senate has made a U-turn, amended and passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
The lawmakers during plenary on Wednesday, rescinded their earlier stance on a clause (Clause 87, deals with the mode of primary election to be used by political parties to select candidates for elective offices) in the bill.
The National Assembly had earlier prescribed that political parties use only a direct mode of primary.
But President Muhammadu Buhari had in December, rejected the bill, making his reservations on Clause 87.
Buhari had cited insecurity, the cost of conducting direct primaries and infringement on the rights of Nigerians to participate in governance as his reasons for declining assent.
He refused to sign the bill unless changes are made to the Clause, to include the addition of consensus candidates and indirect primary options to the mode of selecting a candidate for an election.
In a rather disappointing move to many Nigerians on Wednesday, the lawmakers danced to the tune of the President and amended the bill.
The lawmakers dumped the direct mode of primary elections.
Their latest legislation is sequel to an amendment by the conference committee which recommended that “the direct primary mode of election be expunged.”
Thus, the direct primary has been replaced with three options, including direct, indirect and consensus in clause 85 of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, 2021.
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