STALEMATE on Electoral law, will wait till September; PIB awaits Buhari’s assent

Unknown to many, there is a stalemate on the Electoral Amendment law until September when the National Assembly reconvene from its annual recess; but for the Petroleum industry Bill, it is a done deal that becomes law whenever President Muhammadu Buhari appends his signature.

The stalemate in the Electoral Law Amendment Bill arises because what was passed in the Senate on Thursday is remarkably different from that of the House of Representatives (HoR) on Friday.

A fresh harmonisation, through a conference Committee, therefore, needs to be done before passage in both Houses for a clean copy to be passed for the President’s assent.

The point of disagreement remains the controversial Section 52 (2) which the Senate amended to include a caveat that automatically erodes the Independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

But in the HoR, the conference committee position is retained. It reads: “The Commission (INEC) may transmit results of elections by electronic means where and when practicable.”

House Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, reiterated that the House passed the conference committee position, despite the shortcomings in telecom coverage as explained by the Nigeria Communications Commission.

However, the conference committee’s recommendation, was tweaked and approved by the Senators after an amendment by the Deputy Whip, Senator Sabi Abdullahi to read, “The Commission may consider electronic transmission of results, provided the national coverage is adjudged to be adequate and secure by the National Communications Commission (NCC) and approved by the National Assembly.”

Meantime, the House of Representatives adopted the report of the conference committee on the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, which gives 3% to host communities as against 5% demanded by opposition party members, who walked out of the Chamber to register their disagreements in a press conference.

The report was laid shortly after members of the minority caucus walked out of the chamber in protests against refusal to allow an amendment to Section 52(2) of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill.

Recall that civil society organisations (CSOs) had frowned at the Senate position. They spoke after the passage stating that the passed amended bill is sending out a dangerous signal to Nigerians and the world that the APC led government is not prepared to hold transparent elections devoid of manipulation.

The 26 groups, which spoke, urged Nigerians to hold every Senator and House of Representatives member that voted against the independence of INEC to decide on Electronic Transmission of Results responsible because it is a legislative coup against free, fair, credible and transparent elections.

According to them, the nebulous and controversial Section 52 (2) which states that ‘before INEC can transmit electronically, NCC must adjudge national coverage is adequate and secure, and National Assembly must approve,’ is in conflict with Section 78 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and therefore it is a nullity.