Electoral bill: Senators collect signatures to override Buhari – Newstrends
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Electoral bill: Senators collect signatures to override Buhari

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President Muhammadu Buhari

Senators yesterday commenced moves to override President Muhammadu Buhari on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill with the collection of signatures, Daily Trust gathered last night.

Twice, the senators went into executive sessions that lasted for about two hours on Tuesday.

Our correspondents reliably gathered from the lawmakers that the move to override the president was hatched during the second session.

A cross-section of senators who attended the sessions said the passage of the  2022 appropriation bill earlier scheduled for yesterday was suspended, as many of the lawmakers insisted on overriding the president before the passage of the fiscal document.

But there are doubts in many quarters as to whether the senators would succeed in the move to have their way considering that President Buhari enjoys enormous support from many legislators and an undiluted loyalty from the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Buhari had in a letter to the National Assembly, dated December 13, 2021, titled ‘Withholding of assent to Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2021’ withheld his assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, citing economic, security, and legal issues.

While faulting the removal of indirect primaries as contained in Section 87 of the Electoral Act 2010, Buhari said the amendment as proposed violated the underlying spirit of democracy, which is characterised by freedom of choice.

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The president also said the amendment would also stifle smaller parties without the enormous resources required to mobilise all their members for the primaries. This, he said was not healthy for the sustenance of multi-party democracy in Nigeria.

Strength of lawmakers

Section 58 (5) of the 1999 Constitution empowers lawmakers to override the president.

It reads; “Where the President withholds his assent and the bill is again passed by each House by a two-thirds majority, the bill shall become law and the assent of the President shall not be required.”

During the plenary yesterday, many senators said reasons advanced by the president did not hold water, saying refusing to assent to the bill amounted to rejecting the will of the people.

Midway into the session, the Senate dissolved into executive session following a point of order by Senator George Sekibo (PDP, Rivers).

Sekibo said the Senate needed to discuss the president’s decision to withhold assent to the much-awaited bill before passing the 2022 budget.

The closed session, which commenced at 1.57 pm, lasted for about 40 minutes.

Several senators confirmed that signatures were collected in the chamber to get the buy-in of lawmakers to override the president’s veto.

Sekibo, after the Senate adjourned sitting to Wednesday, said: “By law, we have the power to override him (Buhari). That is what Section 58 (4 & 5) of the constitution said.

“We have collected signatures, about 73, to override the veto and it cuts across party lines.”

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A ranking lawmaker, who corroborated Sekibo’s claims, said there was a groundswell of support to override the president.

“We are praying that it is going to happen tomorrow (today). We just signed up, everybody wanted it, today alone, 78 senators signed, but then they started throwing spanner in the works because at first the Senate president, he is full of pretense, he pretended that he believes in it then all of a sudden he asked for a private audience and suspended plenary and then he left,” the senator said.

Govs relentless

The lawmaker said governors had also moved in to persuade them from overriding the president.

There are allegations that many governors don’t want direct primaries, a development that pitched them against members of the National Assembly.

“Governors have moved in and they have started calling so that we will not get the required number. I am afraid some of our colleagues might pull out,” the lawmaker said.

Another senator, who preferred not to be named, said all members of the Senate present at plenary, except the presiding officer, supported the decision to override the president veto on the bill. 

“We are coming tomorrow to decide on the bill. The decision to override the president on the electoral bill has the support of all senators that were present. Only Lawan was on the other side,” he said.  Efforts to hear from the spokesman of the senate president, Ola Awoniyi were not successful as he did not pick his calls.

Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue) said the reasons given by President Buhari to withhold assent were not enough and that senators were fully prepared to override him.

An APC lawmaker from the North said the passage of the 2022 budget was suspended following the insistence of his colleagues.

“They have the numbers now. As at last count, they had 81. The number keeps increasing.  It has been agreed that votes be taken tomorrow. From all indications, the president’s veto would be overridden,” he said.

Senator Matthew Urhoghide (PDP, Edo) said the federal lawmakers consulted widely across their constituencies to reach an informed decision on the bill.

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“This is not the first time it is happening in Nigeria.  The NDDC Bill of 2001 was vetoed by National Assembly under Obasanjo who was a PDP president. The National Assembly should extricate itself from public disrespect by going ahead to override President Buhari. History stares National Assembly in the face if indeed it is not a rubber stamp legislature,” he said.

We must reform our electoral system – Gbajabiamila

At the House of Representatives, the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, after reading the president’s letter, said they included in the bill provisions that would enhance the conduct of the country’s elections.

“When we return in the New Year, we will resume our efforts to reform the electoral system in our country. And we will do it together. That is what the Nigerian people expect of us, and we will do our duty for God and our country.

“Whichever way it pans out, we must not throw out the baby with the bathwater and must deliver a credible and enduring electoral system to Nigerians. Every law is a living document and as long as it has breath, it must survive,” he said.

Fayemi backs president as govs reach out to legislators

The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has said that the governors were not fixated about any mode of primary election to choose candidates of political parties.

He said this on Tuesday after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Fayemi, who met the president on behalf of his colleagues, said direct primary, indirect primary and consensus as different modes of producing candidates for major elections had their peculiar challenges.

The governor said the courage of Mr President to stand with the people should be commended, stressing that President Buhari  had “only said be fair to all, let all options apply and what you decide should be determined by your own local and peculiar circumstances.”

He said the governors’ interest and concern were that opportunities should be given for an inclusive process.

We’re disappointed – Rafsanjani

On his part, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, expressed disappointment over the president’s action, urging the National Assembly not to disappoint Nigerians.

Rafsanjani, who is the head of Transparency International (TI) Nigeria, urged the National Assembly to veto the president.

Daily Trust

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Damagun writes INEC to conduct by-election for 27 vacant Rivers assembly seats

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IIiya Umar Damagum

Damagun writes INEC to conduct by-election for 27 vacant Rivers assembly seats

Few days after governors on the platform of the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP) handed down an ultimatum for things to change in the party, the Acting National Chairman of the party, Umar Damagun has moved against the FCT Minister and his loyal lawmakers, the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Damagun in a letter addressed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) dated 13th November 2024 and released on Sunday by the spokesperson of the Opposition Lawmakers Coalition, Ikenga Ugochinyere urged the electoral umpire to conduct a bye-election to fill up the 27 seats, they vacated to join the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Wike has been accused of being behind the crisis in the PDP over his disagreement with the Rivers State governor, Sim Fubara, his successor.

The crisis which started over control of resources divided the party in the state with 27 lawmakers in the state assembly siding Wike and defected to the APC following Wike’s acceptance to serve in the government of the APC.

He has also been accused of working in cahoots with Damagun to damage the PDP by not organising the National Executive Committee which would lead to the acting Chairman’s ouster.

After a series of agitation, the latest being from the PDP Governors’ Forum over the weekend, Damagun has demanded that INEC conduct elections as soon as possible, apparently moving against the FCT minister.

He argued in letter titled, ‘DEMAND FOR IMMEDIATE CONDUCT OF FRESH ELECTION IN 27 STATE CONSTITUENCIES OF RIVERS STATE WHICH HAVE BECOME VACANT PURSUANT TO SECTION 109(1)(g) OF THE CONSTITUTION’ that it’s “unlawful” for the 27 members to defect.

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The members defected to the APC on December 11, 2023.

Damagun said, going by provisions of the Constitution, the lawmakers are no longer members of the Assembly.

The PDP acting chairman therefore urged the Commission to perform its constitutional duties and begin the process of conducting fresh elections to fill the vacancies created in the 27 state constituencies by the unlawful act of the former Assembly members.

Parts of the letter read, “The Leadership of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wishes to draw the attention of the Commission to the gross violation of Section 109 (1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) by 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly following their unlawful defection from our Party, the PDP who sponsored their elections to the All Progressive Congress (APC) on Monday, December 11, 2023.

“The Commission may recall that our Party, the PDP nominated all our 32 State House of Assembly candidates in Rivers State for the 2023 General Election on the 7th of July 2022 via your electronic candidate election nomination portal (See attached acknowledgement).

“The Commission may also recall that following the nomination, the Commission conducted election into the Rivers State House of Assembly on the 18th of March, 2023 and our Party won 32 seats in the state Assembly. The elected State House of Assembly members were inaugurated and sworn-in on June, 2023.

“However, on Monday, 11 December, 2023 a period of just six (6) months after inauguration, 27 out of the 32 members publicly announced their defection from our Party to the All Progressive Congress (APC). This defection is a gross violation of Section 109(1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As amended).

“The only two grounds of division and merger provided for in the Constitution that permit such defection are completely non-existent in our political Party. It therefore means that the defections of the 27 members are without lawful excuse and these members have vacated their seats in the Rivers State House of Assembly by the operations of Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution.

“In view of the foregoing, we hereby demand that the Commission performs its constitutional duties and begin the process of conducting a Fresh Election to fill the vacancies created in the 27 State Constituencies by the unlawful act of the Assembly members. Find attached the list of the 27 State Assembly Members and their Constituencies.

“While thanking the Commission for its commitment to deepening democracy in our country, please accept the assurances of our highest regards.”

Damagun writes INEC to conduct by-election for 27 vacant Rivers assembly seats

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Nigeria would have been better under Peter Obi, too much nepotism under Tinubu – Senator Abaribe

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Nigeria would have been better under Peter Obi, too much nepotism under Tinubu – Senator Abaribe

 

Nigeria would have been better than what it is currently if Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP), had won the 2023 elections, the senator representing Abia South, Enyinnaya Abaribe, has said.

Abaribe, who spoke on ‘Politics Today,’ a Channels Television programme, on Monday, said Obi would not have been as nepotistic as the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

“Number one, he would not be as nepotistic as this government; he won’t; it’s not in him. That is just who we are; we feel for the other people.”

The lawmaker called attention to Tinubu’s appointment of four ministers from Ogun alone, noting that many other states have just one.

“I say it, and I don’t think so. We are seeing it everyday. I just gave you one example. How can Ogun state have four ministers? Why does he favour Ogun state? Oyo state has only one minister,” Abaribe said.

”The nepotism of Buhari, which nobody followed, has now deepened under President Tinubu because Buhari did it, and nobody said much. I was the only person shouting.”

He said that rather than waiting for presidents to be fair to the people of the south-east, it is high time people of the zone went back to revamp it, make it more livable, better, and more cohesive.

“It’s obvious that if we continue to look at whoever becomes president, they will look at us and do us right. Apart from Obasanjo and maybe Jonathan, I do not think that we have seen that same type of fairness,” he said.

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Lagos 2027: Seyi Tinubu campaign team releases his life documentary

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Seyi Tinubu

Lagos 2027: Seyi Tinubu campaign team releases his life documentary

Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Tinubu, has been tipped for the seat of Lagos governor in the 2027 governorship election.

This was according to a video making the rounds on various social media platforms, which Peoples Gazette saw on Sunday.

The video highlights the president’s son’s biography, focusing on his education, career, and humanitarian activities as a Nigerian. It also documents his involvement in youth development in the country.

This biopic comes on the heels of some groups’ endorsements of Mr Tinubu’s son as a potential successor to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in 2027.

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On Tuesday, the Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders issued an endorsement in Owerri, Imo, suggesting that the younger Tinubu would be welcomed to contest the governorship seat in Osun or Imo.

He was also endorsed by Friends of Seyi, a group emphasising his vision and intellectual wherewithal to govern the country’s commercial nerve.

APC chieftain Joe Igbokwe, however, described the gale of endorsements as a ploy to undermine the president in a Facebook post.

“Who are these faceless people pushing Seyi Tinubu for Lagos governor? This is a needless distraction,” said Mr Igbokwe. “To pull PBAT down is their target. Ruling Lagos is not the job of boys.”

Lagos 2027: Seyi Tinubu campaign team releases his life documentary

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