Lawmaker urges House of Reps to over ride Buhari’s veto on Electoral Act

Rep. Ben Igbakpa (PDP-Delta) has moved a constitutional point of order, urging the House to override President Muhammadu Buhari’s veto over the delay on 2022 Electoral Amendment Act’s section 84 (8).

Igbakpa proposed the resolution during a plenary session in Abuja on Wednesday, citing a matter of national importance.

The Electoral Amendment Act was recently changed by both chambers of the National Assembly, and the parliamentarians returned it for the President’s assent after amending section 84 (8).

The purpose of the clause was to enable statutory delegates vote in political party primaries.

On May 11, the House of Representatives passed Section 84(8) of the Electoral Amendment Act of 2022, allowing statutory delegates to attend political party conventions and congresses.

After debating a bill proposed by Rep. Abubakar Fulata, Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, the House changed the clause.

Read also:Presidency explains Bishop Oyedepo’s ‘hatred’ for Buhari

The current version, signed by the President in February, made it illegal for statutory delegates to vote in party primaries.

During its recess, the House called an extraordinary session to alter Section 84 (8) of the Electoral Act 2022.

Legislators, governors, ministers, and the president, among others, were unable to participate in the recently ended party primaries due to the lack of statutory delegates.

This was not unrelated to the president’s refusal to sign the 2022 Electoral Act as revised.

The Speaker of the House of Reps, Femi Gbajabiamila however, asked that the motion should be put on notice.

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