Federation Minister of Justice and Attorney General Abubakar Malami says the amended electoral bill, the consent of which President Muhammadu Buhari refused to accept, will worsen insecurity and political instability if allowed to remain.
The minister, who made this charge known in a Radio Kano telephone program monitored in Abuja, also maintained that the electoral bill had “implications of excessive costs, so it would not be signed by the president.”
The amended bill had many innovations that would improve the country’s electoral luck and allow it to keep up with world standards.
But President Buhari, who had promised to reform the electoral process, after seizing the presidency on his fourth attempt, declined his assent on one aspect of the bill: direct primaries for parties versus indirect primaries that allowed governors more. freedom to influence the electoral process. .
It is not yet clear whether the nation’s lawmakers would veto the president as the constitution allows.
But according to Mr. Malami, the new electoral bill “has not captured the interest of all Nigerians.” He said the enactment of the law by the president will create even more crisis in the political space.
He said: “What you need to understand about the leadership of the country, especially regarding President Muhammadu Buhari, in whatever law is presented to him for his signature, the president has certain rights.
“When you talk about politics, he has rights, if you talk about economics, the business community also has rights over him, if you talk about the 60 percent of Nigerians who are not politicians, if you talk about economics, he also has rights. Rights.
“If you talk about security, there is also what is expected of him. The president has to consider laws that are sustainable.
“The job of the president is that of politics, economics, business, security, legislation, politicians and non-politicians.
This is because the country’s leadership is not only for politicians, it is leadership that affects people’s social life, their religion, economy, security and others.
“This is contrary to the leadership of the legislators who is solely political.”
According to the minister, “legislators are only concerned with their political leanings, while the president is concerned with the entire lives of Nigerians made up of politicians and non-politicians.”
He said that any bill enacted by the president must be in the interest of all Nigerians, regardless of their leanings.
“It is looking to satisfy the interest of the more than 200 million Nigerians it is serving and not a particular sector,” he added.
On the financial burden on the new electoral bill rejected by the president, Malami said:
“Today the INEC requires N305 billion for the general elections of 2022. Now, if the general election, which is not the electoral system recently proposed, is going to cost so much, how much will it cost to hold the same election in the APC? It could cost at least 200 billion naira because it will involve everyone.
“Although the good thing about the law is that the INEC is obliged to monitor it.
“So if all political parties are supposed to spend 200 billion naira, then how much will be spent on holding the same primaries in 18 political parties just to produce a qualified candidate?
“Suppose there are about 60 million politicians in the country, what about the remaining 160 million or more Nigerians who have nothing to do with politics? Are you fair to them?
“All people want are good projects, good road from Abuja to Kano, clean water, good education, school feeding program and the rest.
“Are you fair to the 160 million Nigerians who use their wealth just to hold primaries to produce a party candidate, despite other demands from the public?
“My answer to this is that, spending these N305 billion that will be given to INEC and the N200 billion that will be given to political parties is not fair for the remaining 160 million Nigerians who have nothing to do with politics and political appointments. .
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“Your business is simply a better life in Nigeria. This is the problem of cost implications. “
The minister also spoke about the relentless efforts of the Buhari administration to safeguard and rescue the nation’s economy from collapse in 2015, saying that the president rescued the situations by implementing transformative policies and programs.
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He recalled that state governments were also rescued through the provision of numerous rescue funds by the Buhari administration.
The Nigerian News Agency (NAN) reports that the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Kayode Fayemi, visited the Abuja Presidential Village on December 21 to thank President Buhari, on behalf of his colleagues, for addressing the economic challenges facing him. faced by state governments through the provision of financial assistance.
He also saluted the president for his efforts to ensure peace and stability in all troubled states in the country.
Malami said that Buhari did not just help state governments, but also introduced programs such as N-power and COVID-19 interventions that provided employment opportunities for many Nigerians.
Despite increasing insecurity and killings across the country, Malami also recounted “the administration’s various efforts to address the nation’s security challenges.”
“Before Buhari’s arrival, there were many challenges in the security sector, but now we have managed to prevent attacks. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard of attacks on markets, places of worship, etc. ”He added. (YAYA)