Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have called on members of the National Assembly to expedite their decision on the controversial Electoral Law Amendment Bill 2021.
With renewed discussions of the bill by Nigerians in different forums, the governors, in a statement issued after their meeting in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, on Monday, said lawmakers have the options of ” override the veto of the president or eliminate areas of complaint.”
President Muhammadu Buhari in December rejected assent to the bill, citing the direct primary clause and its cost implications for the country as his reasons for not signing the bill.
The National Assembly will meet again on Tuesday and discussion of the bill is expected to be at the top of its agenda.
They had proceeded over the Christmas/New Year break one day after Mr. Buhari reported his refusal to pass the bill.
Giving different reasons, Mr. Buhari had previously rejected the Electoral Bill three times, but none of those rejections have met as much opposition as the last one.
President Muhammadu Buhari
The Governors, under the aegis of the PDP Governors Forum, advised the NASS in their resolution to explore the option of upholding Mr. Buhari’s veto to warn the President against taking similar action in the future.
“The meeting advised that the Mr. President’s veto option would lead to a quicker resolution and would deny Mr. President the opportunity to once again truncate a reformed electoral jurisprudence for Nigeria. A soon concluded Electoral Law is vital for credible elections,” they said in the statement read by the Forum’s chairman, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state.
Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal (Photo credit: BBC)
Furthermore, the governors blamed the central government for the worsening state of insecurity in Nigeria, highlighting the latter’s refusal to approve state police as one of the main reasons for the growth of insurgencies and banditry.
The president, in a recent interview with Channels Television, reaffirmed his stance against state police, a fight governors have been fighting to win for more than a year.
“The meeting expressed its regret that Mr. President is unwilling, based on his recent comments discrediting state surveillance proposals, to engage in reviewing structural problems to address insecurity in Nigeria and urges Mr. President to reconsider its position and consider the decentralization and restructuring of security. architecture as the most viable solution, together with the adequate armament, financing and training requirements for the Security Agencies”, the governors pointed out again in the statement.
ALSO READ: 2021: PDP loses two governors, election bill controversy, other events that shaped Nigerian politics
They also rebuked the dictatorial willingness of the APC-led government to ban Twitter for seven months, thereby causing further harm to young Nigerians who use the platform as a business tool amid the country’s staggering unemployment rate.
Of the 13 governors under the auspices of the PDP, only 10 governors attended the meeting hosted by Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike.
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike [PHOTO CREDIT: @GovWike]Governors present include Mr. Tambuwal of Sokoto State; Udom Emmanuel from Akwa Ibom State; Douye Diri from Bayelsa State; Samuel Ortom from Benue State and Ifeanyi Okowa from Delta State.
Others are the governor of Enugu state, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; Oluseyi Makinde from Oyo State; Ahmadu Fintiri from Adamawa State; Darius Ishaku from Taraba State and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed.