The row over President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to sign the Electoral Law Amendment Bill deepened yesterday,
The government said the opposition was jittery over the matter; former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) urged the National Assembly to override the President’s veto.
Senator Joseph Waku also backed an override of the veto, but Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura said the President acted in good faith.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it would have been implementing the law if the President had signed it.
At a briefing in Abuja, Information and Culture Minister Alhaji Lai Mohammed said Buhari did not sign the Bill because he wants the best for Nigeria.”
According to him, there is no substance in the complaints over timing or otherwise on when the President should react to a bill.
Besides, he accused the opposition of being behind fake news to derail the 2019 elections.
The Minister said: “On the issue of the bill, our President has already communicated to the National Assembly on why he is not signing that bill. And I think if I remember, one of the reasons why he will not sign it now is that signing that bill at this point in time would create confusion and will not make for clarity.
“I don’t think I want to say more than this. We are actually waiting for the response of the National Assembly on this matter. We also pointed to certain errors which we felt the National Assembly should look into and we await further reaction from the National Assembly..
“There’s actually no reason for the President not to sign the Electoral Bill, if he is not convinced that signing it would only jeopardise free and fair election. His refusal to sign is simply because he wants the best for Nigeria.
He picked holes in the opposition’s claim that Buhari declined to sign the bill as part of a plan to rig the elections.
“The opposition is jittery. Already, they have rejected the outcome of the elections. They’ve asked the INEC chairman to resign, they’ve asked the present Inspector General of Police (IG) to resign. They are just preparing excuses for their eventual loss.
“There is absolutely no substance in the timing or otherwise on the President reacting to the bill because you need to study very carefully, consult very widely before you assent to a bill or before you respond to a proposed bill.”
The President and his team, Muhammed said, had always been painstaking in studying bills passed by the National Assembly before signing them into law.
He said: “It is a credit to Mr. President that he would even take the comments of the relevant ministers when a bill like this is being proposed. An electoral bill is so crucial to the life of a nation that time and effort must not be spared in assuring we do the right thing.
“In drafting, what you think is just common mistakes and errors could make a whole lot of difference.
“If you put ‘and’ instead of ‘or’ it may change the entire character of the legislation. I remember in my Law School days, during drafting attention is put on every word. But the main reason I hold on to as to why the President said he is not going to sign this bill is that it will create uncertainty in the Electoral Act.
” Yes there has been a lot of reactions from all, but I think the President has the prerogative to look at the bill, consult with all the authorities, and make known his views to the National assembly. Yes, there should be a lot of cordiality between the NASS and the Federal Government.”
He said the President was only sticking to the principle of separation of powers.
“But at the same time, each arm should guard very jealously its independence and its mandate. And I think this is exactly what the President has done in this matter,” he said.
On the implications of not signing the bill, Mohammed urged the nation to await the of the National Assembly’s decision.
He said: “I think the constitution is very clear on this matter. The President has returned the Bill to the National Assembly; I think we should just wait for development from the National Assembly. I think it is too premature now to start testing what is going to happen.”
Asked what the government will do if the National Assembly overrides the President’s veto, the Minister said: “Let’s wait for that to happen.”
The opposition he alleged, was sponsoring fake news because it has run out of ideas on how to prosecute the 2019 polls.
The minister said: Going back to the issue of fake news, I think the biggest weapon in the arsenal of the opposition today is fake news. We also have it on good authority that the opposition has hired technology companies to actually turn out fake news to look probable but all being fake news.
“One said that I said that the President could no longer speak and understand fully his Fulfulde because of the surgery he underwent in London that affected his ability to speak the language. “Another version of the fake news on the same table as those who manufactured the clone theory. It is absolutely false, untrue.
“What bothers me is that it isn’t going to stop. And in the days and weeks ahead leading up to the 2019 elections we will hear more incredulous fake news. And this is simply because the opposition has run out of ideas.
“They know that they cannot debate issues and have resorted to fabricating fake news. As a matter of fact, we have it on good authority that it is the only weapon left in their arsenal and they will use it devastatingly.
“My charge to the media is that they should not always accept these fake news without questioning. I think there are some basic checks that the media should undertake. If it is said that he made a statement, where did he make the statement? When did he make it?
“Is there any video or audio proof that he did? Unfortunately we are in an era of very serious epidemic and that epidemic today is fake news.
“I am glad that as far back as 2017 we raised this alarm. In fact, we dedicated a whole national council on information summit to address this issue. And on the 11th of July, I became so concerned that we launched a national campaign against fake news, as if we knew it was going to be the single most potent weapon in the arsenal of the opposition. Clearly we should expect more of this in the days and weeks ahead.”
In a December 10 letter addressed to Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Agbakoba said the President’s reason for not signing the bill were not tenable.
The letter, copied all National Assembly members, is entitled: “Overriding the Presidential decline to assent to 2018 Electoral Act.”
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