Tobi Adebayo
The Senate has removed the controversial direct primaries clause from the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
Recall that the clause had inhibited President Muhammadu Buhari from assenting to the bill in 2021.
Buhari had stated that he would assent to the bill if the lawmakers will effect changes to it, which must include the addition of consensus candidates and indirect primary options to the method of selecting candidates by political parties.
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He also lamented that the direct primaries would be too expensive to execute, therefore placing a financial burden on Nigeria’s slim resources.
However, the Senate’s decision to make direct primaries mandatory for political parties was rescinded on Wednesday, January 19, 2021.
This came after the adoption of a motion for the re-committal of the bill to the Committee of the Whole by Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi.
Speaking on the motion, Abdullahi explained that the motion for re-committal of the bill to the Committee, on the Whole, was due to the need to address observations by President Buhari.
“This is to make necessary amendment in accordance with Order 87(c) of the Senate Standing Orders, 2022 (as amended); and relying on order 1(b) and 52(6) of the Senate Standing Orders, 2022 ( as amended),” he said.
