2019: Buhari, INEC, NASS in three-way face-off

In what appears to be getting more interesting by the day, the new sequence introduced by members of the National Assembly, for the 2019 general elections, is set to pitch Aso Rock Presidential Villa, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on the one hand, against members of the National Assembly who insist that it is within their powers to set the order of elections.

Whereas observers are divided on the appropriateness of the move by the legislators, this report will show why, without prejudice to the real but veiled intentions of the legislators, a bottom-up approach to voting for public office holders comes with very tantalising possibilities for a rainbow legislative house, something that is desirable in a polity of clashing political and economic interests.

For, in the final analysis, you can only climb a tree from the bottom and not from the top.

Already, staunch supporters and confidants of the President also see through this magic by members of the National Assembly. Before the amendment to the Electoral Act can be seen through, however, it requires a presidential assent.

It is at that point that the battle of wits would begin. Presidency sources insist that what the National Assembly is trying to do is not altruistic. But again, we confront the impracticability of attempting to climb a tree from the top.

In the event that the President withholds his assent, Sunday Vanguard has been told by some members of the National Assembly that they would call his bluff and go ahead to override him.

Vanguard, February 11, 2018

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