The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Monday, received the Electoral Act Amendment Bill. However, the fate of the bill will again be sealed by an advisory presented by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN).
In December that Malami had in a letter advised the President against signing the Electoral Act because of the controversial mandatory primary which has now been removed by the National Assembly.
However, reports have it that the President may also be seeking the input of the Nigerian Communications Commission with regard to the electronic transmission of results which is another contentious issue in the bill that was eventually resolved.
Although the Independent National Electoral Commission said it had the capacity to transmit election results across the country, the NCC told the National Assembly that the country did not have enough Internet coverage across the country. The Senate subsequently mandated INEC to seek permission from the legislature and the NCC before the electronic transmission of results.
Eventually, both chambers of the National Assembly empowered INEC to transmit results electronically where practicable.
A top government official said, “The President has received the bill. As usual, he will be seeking clarification from critical stakeholders before signing the bill. However, we don’t expect him to delay the bill by 30 days like the last time because we are running out of time.”
When asked if Malami would also be making an input, the official responded, “There is no bill that Buhari signs without consulting Malami. He is the Attorney-General of the country and one of the President’s men.”
The official further stated that the NCC was one of the stakeholders and it was only normal for the President to consult the commission.
