By Igho Akeregha, Ben Ogbemudia and David Lawani Abuja
Unending ripples still trail the recently amended Electoral Act, which provided for a uniform direct primary in the conduct of elections in political parties that are awaiting assent by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Five days after the National Assembly agreed on the contentious law on November 9, the leading opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) maintained its rejection of the direct primary provision in the bill.
ThisNigeria also learnt yesterday that some governors may prevail on the President not to sign the bill into law.
Rivers State Governor, Mr Nyesom Wike, and his counterpart in Sokoto, Aminu Tambuwal, are among the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors that have opposed the passage of the bill. It was also learnt that Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who is of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is not in support of the direct primary provision in the bill.
It was learnt that the governors, who cut across party lines have agreed to ensure that the new amendment was not signed into law.
The governors, a source told ThisNigeria, are already in discussion with some forces in the presidency to influence President Buhari to reject the amendment.
The source noted: “One of their strategies is to allow the amended Electoral Act that has transmitted to the President to remain on his table. By so doing, the lawmakers cannot overrule the President by a two-third majority to make it a law. They believe it will work for them.”
Similarly, the outgoing National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kola Ologbondiyan, cautioned the lawmakers, the majority of whom are of the ruling party, not to foist their form of primaries on other political parties.
He said, “The PDP’s position is clear. The APC cannot foist its form of primaries on other political parties. The PDP and other opposition parties should be allowed the choice of the forms of internal democracy they want to practice as contained in our laws.”
In an interview with ThisNigeria, a professor in the Faculty of Law, University of Benin, Omoregie Edoba, said the National Assembly has no business in the management of political parties.
According to Edoba, what the National Assembly is doing now is to limit the process to only direct primaries and feels that what the lawmakers should be doing is to as much as possible de-legislate management of political parties.
However, Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Marcus Onobun, who said he was speaking in a personal capacity, expressed support for direct primary.
He noted that the political parties are governed by rules and regulations overseen by the Independent National Electoral Commission as provided for in the Nigerian constitution.
He observed that indirect primary as practiced in the past ate deep into the pockets of aspirants as party delegates see the process as an avenue to make money from those contesting for positions. Onobun argued that direct primary will reduce cost and deepen democracy.
The Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Peter Akpatason, APC, Edo said the governors are fighting to keep the existing consensus arrangement that, according to him, is not working.
He stated this when he appeared on “Politics Today,” a political program on Channels Television at the weekend.
Akpatason denied the allegation that the lawmakers included the direct primaries in the bill to divide the governors. According to him: “It is not a tussle between lawmakers and governors. It is beyond that. What we have done is to look at the preponderance of opinions and what the people want.
The governors talked about a couple of issues like logistics. The governors believe that consensus is no longer possible with direct primaries. They rather prefer consensus—and it is not working,” he said.
He maintained that the disagreement on the issue within the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) will not sway the president to withhold assent to the bill.
Meanwhile, as the controversy rages as to whether or not the NASS should legislate on how political parties run their affairs, especially with the cost implication and its practicability, some political pundits cited the example of the recently concluded Anambra governorship elections where they claimed Senator Andy Uba of the APC scored 230,000 votes during the party primary but secured 40,000 votes during the election.
The National Assembly had passed the much anticipated Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021 after both the Senate and the House of Representatives deliberated extensively on the report of the Conference Committee on the bill.
The passage followed the consideration of the report of the Conference Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on the bill.
In line with customary legislative procedures, the two chambers had in September, set up Conference Committees to reconcile disparity in the versions of the bill as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives.
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The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on October 13, constituted a seven-man conference committee to meet with their counterparts in the House to harmonize the differences in the Senate and House versions of the bill.
