PRESIDENT of the senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, Monday said that the expectation of members of the National Assembly was that President Muhammadu Buhari would sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill pending before him into law.
Lawan also said that President Buhari will not be influenced by any external force to perform his duties on the bill, adding that he (Buhari) will follow the due process in the discharge of his functions.
This is as he has assured that the 2022 Appropriation Bill will be passed by the National Assembly before Christmas break.
Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Dr. Lawan said that before sending anything to the President in form of bill for his assent, the two chambers of the National Assembly always make a wide consultation so as to have the view of majority of the people.
Recall that there is a sharp disagreement on the mode of party primaries between the National Assembly and the governors.
While the National Assembly in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill recommended direct primaries in the selection of candidates for all the political primaries, the governors are opting for indirect primaries which has been the practice for decades.
On the reason for his visit to the State House, he said, “Well, I have come to meet Mr. President. You know, our engagement with Mr. President is of continuous one. And as a leader of the country and as the leader of our party, there are so many things that we can come here to consult with Mr. President.
“I had engagement with him on the current situation in the National Assembly, what we are doing in our budget and we hope that by the middle of December, or before Christmas, we should be able to consider and pass the budget by the grace of God.Work has reached a very commendable level, as we expected on that.
“Also, you know that we have impending issues in our party. We have our congresses still to be conducted in few states about two or three. And of course, going forward, how we are able to reconcile the different shades of opinions that disagree in the party.
“You will call that the party, with the endorsement of Mr. President, had constituted a national reconciliation Committee under the chairmanship of Distinguished Senator Abdullahi Adamu.We are very optimistic that, that committee with all other leaders in the party, will be able to embark on one to one discussion with our people in different parts of the country who might have had some disagreements.
“You also know that we have legislation that are awaiting the consideration of Mr. President, and for us in the legislature, we’ve finished our job of passing the bills, particularly the Electoral Act Amendment Bill. It is now for Mr. President, to engage with his assistants and those who normally advise him, for him to take the next most appropriate action.
“We are also very desirous of ensuring that the the APC is so stable before the Congress, the convention because we want our convention to be hitch free convention. We want every member of this party who comes to attend the convention to do so with a clear mind.
“That whoever becomes the Chairman, for example, whatever leadership emerges, is a leadership that has the respect of everyone in the party, because we want Mr. President to continue to work with a solid and strong party, APC. We want this administration, and President Muhammadu Buhari to continue to do the very good work it is doing across the country and consolidate at the end of his tenure.
“Before then, we are very hopeful that we are able to have projects, the legacy projects commissioned like the Second Niger bridge, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway, the Lagos-Ibadan, and, of course, this kind of projects, we want to ensure that we are able to get them commissioned by Mr. President.
“So, we discussed a lot of things, both in government, in the party. And of course, the security situation in the country can never escape our discussions. And we believe that we have done so well. In the Northeast, we have done so well in the South-South, especially the Niger Delta. And our challenge is in the Northwest, and we are determined to ensure that we give the government every possible support.
“Mr. President wants to ensure that before he leaves, that the Northwest like the other parts of this country would experience better stability than we’re enjoying today. So on the whole, it’s not something new that I come to see, Mr. President, there are so many things that when we see Mr. President, we tell him what we feel and what we should do.
“But of course, he has his own advisers, but he hears the perspective of the legislature as well. And I’m very happy that Mr. President is so available to us each time we want to see him to discuss matters of governance, matters of our party, and of course, matters that go even beyond those two areas, but I’m happy that what we have discussed are things that will make this country better.”
Asked how the party would ensure stability especially as the governors who are critical stakeholders are not happy with the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, he said when there is any disagreement, the way out is engagement of people.
He said, “Well, I don’t know, when you say on the bill on mode of election, whether it’s a provision in the bill, the Electoral Act Amendment Bill Well, you see, sometimes this kind of disagreement happens.
“And when they do, I think the best way forward is for people to engage. I always believe, and I’ve conversed for this, that National Assembly members are major stakeholders, governors of APC are major stakeholders. And in fact, the Presidency is a major stakeholder, in fact, it is the biggest stakeholder because it runs the administration, and our party must always try to bring everybody together.
“I don’t think there will be any day that you will have a political issue that everybody will say the same thing about it that agrees with you without any amendment. So when we have any section of a party disagreeing with something we should be engaging that’s why we are politicians, we must have that kind of a platform where we discuss the issues, let’s understand each other, and then we make whatever it is that will make this disagreement minimized.
“Or maybe where possible, eliminate completely. So I don’t think it is right to say that governors have disagreed. Maybe some governor’s might have said they don’t like it this way. But that’s normal. So it’s for us to engage and engage and engage. And I believe that.”
Further asked if he was willing to let it go if need be, he said, “This is not something that we should be talking now because it has passed the legislature and it’s no more with the legislature. So this is something that is now with Mr. President, if we are talking about the electoral act amendment bill, the National Assembly has finished its work. And the bill has been transmitted to Mr. President.
“And I think at this moment, all eyes will be on what happens to the bill from the executive side rather than the legislature. Yes, of course, when we send a bill to Mr. President, we expect the bill to be signed. But there are two things that can happen. Mr. President could decide to of course, after consultation with his advisers, sign, or if he doesn’t want to sign he may have his reasons.
“But I believe that whatever we do in the National Assembly, especially this ninth National Assembly, we think deep, we think wide, we will consult very broadly before we take any position. So I believe that whatever we send to the executive arm of government, Mr. President for his assent, these are things that are well thought out.
“And I believe that the expectation of members of National Assembly will be that this bill is signed. But this is then again, not my own calling, is for Mr. President to take his decision.”
He further said, “And my opinion is that the National Assembly has done its work. And members of National Assembly have expressed themselves. This is the majority view and is for Mr. President to look at it and of course, expectation of National Assembly is get the Presidential assent.”
On how long the National Assembly should expect the bill before it will be signed by the President, he said, “I don’t know why this appears to be the only issue.
“You see, there is no need for you to lobby for any bill to be signed. If you are the chairman of the National Assembly, you are simply a presiding officer, and you coordinate the views of your colleagues. The majority of my colleagues in the Senate and in the House of Representatives say this is where they want the bill to go. This is the provision they want in Section 52, 3 rather. So I don’t have to come and say Mr. President sign this.
“Mr. President has his own processes when a bill is sent to him from the National Assembly. I’m sure he has the Attorney General and others to advise him. So why should I stress myself to say, just sign?
“We expect that he will sign, but how he does that is his calling. And I think we should allow him to just follow the processes he is used to, but the expectation of members of National Assembly is that the bill is signed.”
Further asked whether direct primaries was the best way to go, he said, “I don’t have a personal opinion here, because I’m not here alone. So I don’t have a personal opinion. My opinion is that of the National Assembly members”
