By Igho Akeregha, Olusegun Olanrewaju and David Lawani
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday wrote a letter to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, seeking advice from the commission on the amended Electoral Act bill passed by the National Assembly on November 9. The president, who received the bill on November 19, has until December 19 to sign or communicate his feelings and comments about the bill to the National Assembly.
But in an exclusive interview with ThisNigeria, a former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, said the controversial issue of the direct primary in the amended Electoral Act was strictly a party affair, adding that it could lead to bloodshed.
He said he was ‘personally aware’ that the APC constitution has already prescribed that it could use any of the three options at its disposal, including consensus, congresses, or direct primary.
Odigie Oyegun said, “The National Assembly has absolutely no business legislating on a matter like that. (It has) no power to debate or legislate on it. Secondly, it is the easiest way to fake primaries. “And the only people propagating it are the people who have ulterior motives, and it is anti-democratic. It is anti-democratic because it is one system of selecting candidates that people can sit in a room anywhere and write the results.
“Even up to date, in the few instances where it has been used, that is how it has been done. Otherwise, how do you explain Anambra? The APC candidate won the primary, with well over 300, 000 votes, but when the election came, he had 40,000 votes, how do you explain that?
“This is what happens. Lastly, no candidate, in the case of the presidential primary will be able to monitor the party’s aspirants, be able to monitor every ward in the nation.
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“We are still struggling with INEC to do it effectively. How about the Police, DSS, Customs, and all the security agencies participating? And you want a party to do the same thing all over the country? You are just inviting bloodshed. Because it won’t work.
“How many times can we stretch them? Just for political purposes. It is a wrong-headed move with a sinister motive. Whoever must have been propagating it must have a sinister motive. I am only saying given our level of political maturity, it is unthinkable. Totally, unthinkable at the levels these primaries are carried out. It will lead to bloodshed.”
Meanwhile, if the president refuses to sign the bill after 30 days through a veto, and the National Assembly is not in support of the President’s amendments, the Senate and the House of Representatives can recall the bill and pass it.
If the bill is passed in the form it was sent to the President by two-thirds majority votes in both chambers, the bill automatically becomes a law even without the signature of the President.
The dilemma
Sources have hinted that so far, the president sees no problem with the bill, even though he is seeking advice from INEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN).
A top INEC source said, “We received a letter from the President last week regarding INEC’s position on the Electoral Act amendment, especially as regards the controversial direct primaries which many governors have kicked against. We are supposed to respond within seven days. I know that a response will be sent to the President anytime from now.”
When asked if INEC would endorse the direct primaries, the source said the commission would only indicate its position on the merits and demerits of the bill and let the President decide.
Senior Special Assistant (SAA) to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said Buhari would still have to consult with relevant stakeholders on the matter before the bill is signed.
INEC National Commissioner, Festus Okoye, had said earlier in the month that the direct primary method would be far more expensive because of the huge personnel that would be needed to undertake the primaries.
Okoye had said the commission would also need about two officials to supervise the poll in each of the 8,809 wards in the country, bringing the total number of staff to 17,600.
Reactions
A former governor of Ekiti State, Olusegun Oni, has advised that before further comments on the matter, INEC should be allowed to reply to the presidential letter first.
He said, “Let us know what they consider of it. As far as I’m concerned, if it is people that will vote, whether you call it direct or indirect, it is in the hands of the people.
“Whatever they call it, people will vote, and whoever is the people’s choice, the party will pick, but it is good that he has asked, and I know that asking INEC is also bringing their attention to it as critical stakeholders. The president has done the right thing.”
According to the National Deputy Youth Leader-elect of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Tim Osadolor, “President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) has just woken up from his sleep.
I think this is the first thing that PMB has done right in a very long time since his presidency started six years ago.”
A lawyer and notary public and former member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Samson Osagie, opined, “Let’s assume that he wants to consult with INEC on the feasibility of the commission being able to monitor direct primaries. “No Law prevents Mr President from consulting concerning a bill brought before him for assent. So, let’s wait for INEC’s reply.
But in his contribution, the coordinator of Buhari Media Organisation (BMO), Niyi Akinsiju, has described the move by President Buhari to seek advice from the INEC chairman on the electoral bill as the best way to address the issue.
Akinsiju, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Niyi Akinsiju, also said the move by President Buhari seeking comments and advice from the INEC chairman is the best move made so far by him.
Reacting to what the move or letter intended to achieve on the phone, Akinsiju told ThisNigeria that it was a well thought out decision by the president as only a serious leader would go into consultation for the best interest of the nation.
He said: “That is the primary purpose of democracy; consultation and dialogue. The INEC is the institution that is responsible for election management. It is properly constituted, and of course, well informed on what it takes to manage elections. So, a body like INEC must necessarily be consulted on issues that resolve around elections.
“Mr. President has done what is appropriate to consult and advice from an institution on inputs in empowering his knowledge before he decides to sign the bill into law. I am even more appreciative of the move. I call him a listening leader because this kind of move has made him more convinced that he is a conscientious democrat.”
Recall that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has also lent its voice to the call on President Buhari to sign the electoral amendment bill into law.
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Meanwhile, the member representing Akoko Edo Federal Constituency, Edo State, Mr Peter Akpatason, expressed his view on the approach made by President Buhari seeking advice from the INEC chairman on assenting to the bill before him.
Akpatason, who is the Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, said since the commission had already made it known that adopting direct primary as a method by political parties would involve lots of logistics and other costs, there was a need for the president to meet with the commission to seek for inputs, even though he is not bound by any law.
“Well, I think on every bill that passes through that stage, among every other stage, the president needs the opinion of agencies that are directly affected before giving assent.
“He is not bound to do it, but it is also not out of place for him to do it. But as you know, he is not bound to take whatever comes out of that place.
“Genuine advice and consent will resonate with anybody. I don’t see anything wrong with it. But what I know is that Mr. President is only allowing room for popular participation in the democratic process because he believes in it. He has been an advocate of direct primary. And I know that he is opposed to indirect primary.
“And I also want to believe that the reason he is doing that is that some people believe that INEC believes that direct primary will involve a lot of logistics and other things.
“If that is their opinion, and it is already in the public domain, probably, it will not be out of place for Mr. President to find out their official position based on what has been expressed so far,” he noted.
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