President Mohammadu Buhari is preparing to sign the Nigeria electoral act amendment bill 2021 that would allow electronic transmission of results and others, according to a PDF obtained by MANDYNEWS.
The News: Buhari is expected to sign the electoral bill on Wednesday, or in the days before the 1st of March, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, said.
- He will sign it any moment from now,”
- “It could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be anytime, but within the 30 days.
- “It could be signed today; it could be signed tomorrow.
- In a matter of hours; not days. Hours could be 24 hours; it could be 48 hours; not days, not weeks.”
Why it matters: According to Section 28 (1) of the Electoral Bill 2022, INEC is required to issue a notice of election not later than 360 days before the day appointed for an election.
According to INEC, the scheduled date for the 2023 Presidential and National Assembly election is February 18, 2023.
If the President gives assent to the bill on or before February 22., INEC will be legally bound to issue Notice of Election, and the dates for the 2023 elections will be maintained. However, if the President acts on the bill after February 22′, the dates for the 2023 election and other subsequent electoral activities, be affected.
Granting presidential assent to the Electoral Bill, 2022, on or before February 22, 2022, is in the best interest of our electoral democracy. Any amendments can be sent to the National Assembly later.
Let’s hope the President will sign the bill this week.
