While addressing heads of political parties during a meeting on January 18, 2022, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, said that the commission would not release the 2023 general elections timetable until the Electoral Act Amendment Bill was signed into law.
“As soon as it is signed into law, the commission will quickly release the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 general election based on the new law,” Yakubu said.
With INEC required by law to issue a notice of election not later than 360 days before the day appointed for an election, it is feared that if President Muhammadu Buhari acts on the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2022, after February 22, 2022, INEC may have no option than to postpone the 2023 presidential election to a later date.
INEC had already scheduled the 2023 presidential and National Assembly election for February 18, 2023.
As reflected in our last edition, the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has hinted again that President Buhari may withhold assent to the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill if it is considered to have proposals based on personal interests.
Apprehension and conspiracy theories have, therefore, trailed this crucial issue.
National Chairman of the National Conscience Party, Tanko Yunusa, said the way the President was handling the Bill put some question marks on his credibility, “as it would seem as if he is allowing himself to be used by powerful cabals in the country.”
He said, “It puts a big question mark on the credibility of the president himself because he is allowing himself to be used and manipulated by both the legislative leaders and members of his own cabinet. The whole truth about it is that Mr. President missed an opportunity to put his name in an indelible mark of gold plus diamond. He failed in that regard because he had the opportunity to sign that electoral act in 2021 when it was given to him. And then, when there are issues that he needs to adjust, he can deal with them later because it is very clear that the legislative members are protecting their interests and the interest of their paymasters and so, this particular back and forth of the electoral bill is an attempt to whittle down the idea of giving Nigerians credible, free and fair elections.”
Afenifere leader, Ayo Adebanjo, in his intervention, maintained that it was a ploy to rig the 2023 election.
He argued that the provisions would make it difficult for riggers of election to have a field day, and so all the delay in the signing of the Bill was to ensure that “it never comes into use so that they can rig.”
“It is our opinion that granting presidential assent to the Electoral Bill, 2022, on or before February 22, 2022, is in the best interests of our electoral democracy… it will help the INEC to issue guidelines for the 2023 general elections and make all the necessary preparations”
“They want to rig the election. He’s not signing the electoral amendment bill because it contains some provisions that make it impossible to rig. If you have not seen it long ago, it’s a pity. I’ve said enough about that, the man has a private agenda. They want to dominate the whole country, I only hope it won’t be too late before we realise it. The conditions in the new electoral amendment bill are what they don’t like, the man is not a fool. The man doesn’t want to leave, if he’s going to leave, he will still be controlling from the rear,” Adebanjo argued.
Our fear is that barely a year to the presidential election, INEC is yet to issue guidelines for the conduct of the election on the ground that it is waiting for a new electoral act.
We recall vividly that immediately after the 2019 general elections, INEC, which is the electoral umpire empowered by law to fix dates of elections, scheduled the 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections for February 18, 2023.
In line with the Electoral Bill 2022, the deadline for INEC to issue the notice of election for the 2023 general election will be February 22, 2022 and not February 18, 2022 – the reasons being that the total number of days from February 22, 2022, to February 17, 2023, is 360 days.
The Electoral Bill 2022 was transmitted to President Buhari for assent on January 31, 2022, and by virtue of Section 58(4) of the 1999 Constitution, he has a timeline of 30 days to give or decline assent to the Bill.
It is our opinion that granting presidential assent to the Electoral Bill, 2022, on or before February 22, 2022, is in the best interest of our electoral democracy.
If the president signs the bill on time, it will help the INEC to issue guidelines for the 2023 general elections and make all the necessary preparations as required by the new law.
We also note that the issues raised by the president in the earlier rejected bill had been addressed, and now it is for him to sign the bill on time to enable smooth preparations for the 2023 general elections.
Many Nigerians had expected that following the withholding of assent by the president when the Bill was first transmitted to him by the lawmakers, the reworked version submitted afterwards would have been such that possible areas of conflicts were avoided.
We are reluctant to buy into the opinion held in many quarters that all the controversies over the electoral bill might have been a smokescreen and a conscious and deliberate conspiracy by powerful interests in the Executive and the Legislature who are averse to positive changes that make it difficult for them to continue in their old game of manipulating the electoral process.
If that is the case, all democrats and patriotic Nigerians owe it a duty to stand up against these retrogressive forces that are bent on retarding the progress of our hard-won democracy.
We are joining other patriotic Nigerians in calling on President Buhari to go ahead and give his assent to the Bill as presently transmitted by the National Assembly.
This will be demonstrating his avowed commitment to bequeathing a culture of transparent and credible elections to the country.
The Bill can afterwards be revisited and amended again if compelling reasons emerge to do so, either before or after the 2023 elections.
Under no circumstances or pretext must we throw away the grains with the chaff which will be the case if the Electoral Act, for reasons of some clauses in it, is thrown away in its entirety.
