President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan said that the chamber will consult with the House of Representatives on how to respond to President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to veto the Electoral Act 2010 (Amendment) Bill.
Lawan made this known after the Senate emerged from a close-door executive session on Wednesday to deliberate on the President’s decision to withhold assent to the electoral bill passed by the National Assembly.
Members of the Senate had on Tuesday vowed to override Buhari’s veto, with signatures of Senators backing the move already being collated.
However, the Senate President noted on Wednesday that the provisions of the 1999 Constitution do not permit the chamber to exclusively take any action on such matters in the absence of the House.
The House had, however, embarked on recess on Tuesday, adjourning plenary till January 2022. The Speaker had also prevented similar moves from representatives, urging them to wait till resumption next year.
Lawan stated that a joint position would be reached with the House after due consultation with Nigerians to determine the appropriate line of action, after both chambers reconvene from the Christmas and New Year break.
Speaking on what transpired in the closed session, Lawan said, “The Senate, in a closed session, deliberated on matters relevant to the workings of the Senate in particular and the National Assembly in general. The Senate, also in the closed session, discussed how to respond to the letter from Mr. President on the electoral bill amendment.
“The Senate consequently resolved to consult with the House of Representatives in January when both the Senate and House will be in session.
“Presently, the House of Reps has gone on recess and as we all know, the constitutional provision is for the Senate and House of Representatives to jointly take the appropriate action.
“The Senate also resolved to consult with our constituents during our recess in January. The Senate believes that our constituents have a role to play as the major stakeholders in the laws that we make in the National Assembly.”
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party caucus in the House has vowed to mobilise for overriding the President on the bill.
Leader of the caucus, Kingsley Chinda, in a statement issued on Wednesday, alleged that Buhari declined to sign the bill into law due to the provision for electronic transmission of election results and not a restriction of political parties to direct primary as the President noted in his letter to the National Assembly.
Chinda’s statement was titled ‘Save Nigeria now from Buhari: PDP Caucus Lawmakers Cry Out…Say Nigeria Seized by Hostage Takers, Bandits, Terrorists…As Mr. President Shows Utter Disdain for Constitution…Calls on Buhari to Resign.’
The statement partly read, “On the issue of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, the caucus expressed concerns that in the past one month, Nigerians have waited on General Buhari to give assent to the electoral reform bill passed to him by the National Assembly.
“As was postulated in several quarters, he has declined assent to same, using the cost of direct primaries as a decoy. The untold reason for declining is to avoid the electronic transmission of results which will improve the credibility of the electoral system.
“This refusal, though contemplated, has left Nigerians confounded by a President who continues to show utter disdain for the Constitution and the reform of the institutions of the state. Under him, our institutions of state have regressed to the point that the gains of previous institutions reforms, embarked by our great party (PDP) while in power, have been either lost to his inaction or to his deliberate ploy to leave our country worse than he met it. On this point alone, we are not convinced that he is interested in the reform of the electoral process.”
“A ruling party that cannot conduct its national convention lacks the capacity to implement some of the innovative and people-empowering provisions of the bill, like the direct party primaries and electronic transmission of results from the units. As an opposition caucus, we will ensure that our members exercise their power under Section 58(5) of the Constitution to veto the President whenever the National Assembly deems it fit to table the issue for discussion.”