President Muhammadu Buhari
Electoral Act, National Convention: APC using ruling status to influence INEC timetable, say analysts
Political analysts in the country have posited that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is using its ruling party status to influence the timetable of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by way of withholding assent to the Electoral Act Amendment.
According to respondents who disclosed this to Oracle Today, the ruling believes it can shift its National Convention, delay the signing of the Electoral Act Amendment to favour it.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, while featuring on Channels TV programme, Tuesday, had disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari will sign the Act anytime soon.
“He (Buhari) will sign it (the bill) any moment from now,” he said while appearing as a guest on the Channels Television breakfast programme. “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,” Adesina said.
“Going by the earlier released INEC timetable, the APC had up 21 days to conclude its National Convention as well as all other electoral matters within its party. But then again the same INEC then come out to disclaim that timetable, predicating it on the signing of the Electoral Act Amendment.
“So now you see how these events are closely attached. And with the news emerging today (Tuesday) that President Muhamadu Buhari will sign the Electoral Act Amendment, that is also the only reason the National Convention of the APC was shifted. INEC can only start counting the 21 days from when the Act has been signed into law,” according to Dr Ben Nwosu, a Political analyst and lecturer at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, in Awka.
It would be recalled that analysts have continued to claim that the APC may also be leveraging on its ruling parry status to force the hand of INEC, which Chairman, Mr Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed last month in Abuja during the commission’s first quarterly consultative meeting with political parties that it will only release the 2023 general election timetable after the Electoral Act Amendment Bill is signed into law.
“On the Electoral Amendment Bill currently before the National Assembly, the Commission is encouraged by the Senate President’s assurance to give priority attention to the Bill when the National Assembly reconvenes from its recess today, and the commitment by the President to assent to the Bill as soon as the issue of mode of primaries by political parties is resolved. We look forward to a speedy passage of the Bill, which is crucial to our preparations for future elections.
“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,” the INEC chairman said.
“What it means in effect is that the time starts counting when the Electoral Act is signed into law, that is when INEC’s 21 notice will come into effect. So as it is now, APC or any other party can find convenience to shift or make adjustment in their own party schedules,” according to a student of Political Science at the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, Mr. Michael Abiodun.
“The delay in signing the Act into law by President Buhari was never about direct or indirect primaries. It was just a ploy by the ruling party to gain more time for the party to conclude its internal wrangling. And now with the postponement of the party’s National Convention earlier slated for February 26, they feel they can conclude it within that timeframe, hence the willingness to sign the Act into law and allow INEC clock to start ticking,” said another analyst who craved for anonymity.
The main opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), along with civil society groups across the country has continuously called on President Buhari to sign the Act immediately to allow for commencement of politicking ahead of the 2023 General Elections.
Last month, in January, lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives chambers of the National Assembly passed the harmonised version of the bill.
Passed on January 25, the bill was transmitted to President Buhari a week after, as confirmed by his Senior Special Assistant on NASS Matters (Senate), Senator Babajide Omoworare.
However, weeks after receiving the bill, the President has yet to give his assent – an action that has sparked an outcry from critics who fear he might reject it again.
