President Buhari has given reasons for refusing to assent to
the Electoral (Amendment) Bill, 2018 recently passed by the National
Assembly for the third time. Last week, President Buhari rejected the
amended electoral bill. In a letter sent to the senate which was read
during plenary today December 11th, President Buhari said he rejected
the amendment because any amendment could cause an uncertainty into the
electoral process for the 2019 election. Read what he said
below“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 6th December 2018 to decline Presidential Assent to the
Electoral (Amendment) Bill, 2018 recently passed by the National
Assembly.“I am declining assent to the Bill principally because I am
concerned that passing a new electoral bill this far into the electoral
process for the 2019 general elections, which commenced under the 2015
Electoral Act, could create some uncertainty about the applicable
legislation to govern the process.“Any real or apparent change to the
rules this close to the election may provide an opportunity for
disruption and confusion in respect of 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. It
is also important for the following drafting amendments to be made to
the Bill:”A. Section 5 of the Bill, amending section 18 of the Principal
Act should indicate the subsection to which the substitution of the
figure ’30” for the figure “60” is to be effected.”“B. Section 11 of the
Bill, amending Section 36 should indicate the subsection in which the
provision is to be introduced.“C. 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 that the political
parties may give 21 days’ notice of the .. intention to merge, as
opposed to the 90 days provided in Section 84(2) of the Electoral Act
which provides the provision for merger of political parties.”“D. The
definition of the term “Ward Collection Officer” should be revised to
reflect a more descriptive definition than the capitalized and undefined
term “Registration Area Collation Officer'' he said President Buhari gives reasons for rejecting the electoral amendment bill
President Buhari has given reasons for refusing to assent to
the Electoral (Amendment) Bill, 2018 recently passed by the National
Assembly for the third time. Last week, President Buhari rejected the
amended electoral bill. In a letter sent to the senate which was read
during plenary today December 11th, President Buhari said he rejected
the amendment because any amendment could cause an uncertainty into the
electoral process for the 2019 election. Read what he said
below“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 6th December 2018 to decline Presidential Assent to the
Electoral (Amendment) Bill, 2018 recently passed by the National
Assembly.“I am declining assent to the Bill principally because I am
concerned that passing a new electoral bill this far into the electoral
process for the 2019 general elections, which commenced under the 2015
Electoral Act, could create some uncertainty about the applicable
legislation to govern the process.“Any real or apparent change to the
rules this close to the election may provide an opportunity for
disruption and confusion in respect of 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. It
is also important for the following drafting amendments to be made to
the Bill:”A. Section 5 of the Bill, amending section 18 of the Principal
Act should indicate the subsection to which the substitution of the
figure ’30” for the figure “60” is to be effected.”“B. Section 11 of the
Bill, amending Section 36 should indicate the subsection in which the
provision is to be introduced.“C. 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 that the political
parties may give 21 days’ notice of the .. intention to merge, as
opposed to the 90 days provided in Section 84(2) of the Electoral Act
which provides the provision for merger of political parties.”“D. The
definition of the term “Ward Collection Officer” should be revised to
reflect a more descriptive definition than the capitalized and undefined
term “Registration Area Collation Officer'' he said 
