News Editor
Over 80 Senators are reported to have rallied a veto on the President’s refusal to assent the amendments to the electoral act. This is as the House of Representatives is planning to put the issue aside and to proceed on recess until next year to consider the matter.
Our correspondent at the National Assembly gathered that many Senators were peeved at the President’s action and this is across party lines.
An insider was quoted to have said that if that is how they want to scatter the party, let it be.
“We gave him everything he wanted even against popular wish and now he wants to pay us back this way because of some governors and cabal.
We need to make it clear that this nation belongs to all.” He said
However, some PDP senators are of the view that the bill is not completely unimplementable and that the baby and the bath water should not be thrown away.
A certain PDP senator told our correspondent that certain aspects of the bill could still be useful to the nation’s democracy.
“It is possible to expunge areas of disagreements and have the bill assented to than to throw everything including the good and the bad away.” The senator said.
In the House of Representatives, the speaker who is expected to toe similar lines with his counterpart appears unwilling to initiate discussions on the matter in the green chamber.
Party leaders are expected to throw up various positions on the matter which promises to generate intense conversations in the polity, in the coming days.
Recall that the National Assembly on November 20 transmitted the Electoral Act Amendment Bill to President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent but the President declined assent citing high cost of conducting direct primaries, security concerns and manipulations amongst others as reason for refusing to assent the bill.
