Electoral Act Amendment bill: We stand with Buhari – APC Reps

…PDP Reps: We’ll make our stand public soon …Sign bill to show your desire for free, fair, credible elections, Atiku charges President The All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives caucus on Wednesday threw its weight behind the withholding of assent by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Electoral Act amendment bill, describing the legislation as imperfect. House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, made the caucus position known after an emergency meeting. Gbajabiamila said that the imperfections in the Electoral Act amendment bill such as the provision that accreditation of voters must be done electronically without the option of manual accreditation was the major reason why Buhari refused assenting to the bill. According to him, the electronic accreditation of voters may lead to the disenfranchisement of millions of voters in the event the electronic system fails to work as occurred during the 2015 general elections. “When a document is imperfect and you can read it or interpret it any how or if count was removed when it should’ve been there, then you can’t override such an imperfect document unless first you amend the document. “You’ve to start the process all over again and then send it back to Mr. President,” he declared. The House leader further said that constitutionally, the President is not obliged to give reasons for declining assent to any legislation. “On this particular one, the thrust and spirit why the President has refused to sign which we identify with is that every vote must count in Nigeria. “This bill that was sent to the President says that you can only accredit voters through electronic system, it forecloses manual accreditation. “We’re all witnesses to what happened in the last election where even the sitting President couldn’t be accredited. “What Buhari has done is to protect everybody in Nigeria. Yes, do your electronic accreditation but make room for the possibility for manual accreditation in the event the electronic system fails,” Gbajabiamila stated. He, therefore, challenged the National Assembly to remove all the imperfections in the amendment bill and resend it to the President for assent. “So, that’s our position. A punctuation, a dot and a line can change the meaning of a provision in the law, Gbajabiamila said. However, he expressed confidence that the opposition don’t have the numbers to override the President’s veto, adding that “lawmaking is about numbers and we have more than the numbers. “If they (opposition) are able to muster the required two – third and they can push it, there is nothing we can do, but as a party, we’re not going to be part of the two – third”. When contacted for reaction to the APC caucus stance on the Electoral Act amendment bill, Peoples Democratic Party PDP) lawmakers said that the caucus was yet to meet to adopt a collective position on the refusal of Buhari to assent to the contentious legislation. According to them, since the APC caucus has made their position known, they would refrain for now from making any individual reaction to the press conference addressed by the lawmakers of the ruling party. They, however, assured that when the time is ripe, the PDP House caucus would meet, study the position of the APC caucus and respond approximately. Meanwhile, the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has said that the only way President Muhammadu Buhari could show his commitment to ensuring free, fair and credible elections in 2019 is to sign into law the Electoral Act Amendment Bill to which he has declined assent four consecutive times. Atiku made the charge on Wednesday at the Kukah Centre, Abuja while signing the Peace Pact ahead of the 2019 General election organised by the National Peace Committee. The former vice president, who was delighted that the Presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), President Muhammadu Buhari, has signed the peace pact, said that for Buhari to demonstrate the commitment of his administration and that of his party, the APC, to credible elections next year, “he needs to take a step further by signing the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law”. Atiku further reiterated that he did not shun the signing of the Peace Pact on Tuesday but was not invited by the organisers. He said as a democrat, he and his party, the PDP, are committed to free, fair and peaceful elections. Atiku declared: “I am a democrat ab initio. I have always being a democrat and will continue to be one”. Chairman of the National Peace Committee, former military Head of State, Gen Abdusalami Abubakar (rtd), apologised to the PDP and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, for the regrettable omission in the invitation. He said: “In order to dispute the notion that he (Atiku) absented himself from yesterday’s (Tuesday’s) event and to disabuse the minds of Nigerians, I called Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and he promised to come and sign the document and I am delighted he is here today”. He called on the Director of the Kukah Centre, Rev. Father Attah Barkindo, to read the letters of the Peace Pact to Atiku. Letters of the accord says that Presidential candidates of political parties agreed to among other things “to run issue- based campaigns at national, State and local government levels. In this, we pledge to refrain from campaigns that will involve religious incitement, ethnic or tribal profiling, both by ourselves and by all agents acting in our names, party, any public statements, pronouncements, declarations and speeches that have the capacity to incite any form of violence, before, during and after the elections. “To commit ourselves and political parties to the monitoring of the adherence to this Accord by a National Peace Committee made up of respected statesmen and women, traditional and religious leaders; “To support all Institutions of government including INEC and the security agencies to act and be seen to act with impartiality; “To formally and publicly speak out against provocative utterances and oppose all acts of Electoral violence whether perpetuated by our supporters and or opponents”. Accompanying Atiku Abubakar to the event were the party’s National chairman, Prince Uche Secondus; his running mate, Peter Obi; former Governor of Cross River State, Liyel Imoke; Presidential aspirant, Tanimu Kabiru Turaki; Otunba Gbenga Daniel; Director, Media & Publicity, PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Kola Ologbondiyan and Bolaji Abdulahi, among others. In another development, the PDP Presidential candidate has promised Nigerian women of fair representation in his government if elected next year. Addressing a town hall meeting with PDP Women Stakeholders at Chida Hotel Event Centre, Abuja on Wednesday, Atiku said the PDP as a party has always been gender sensitive, stressing that “PDP has never forsaken the course and advancement of women”, adding that he demonstrated this in his capacity as vice President of the country. He said: “In terms of quantity and quality, women will play key roles in our administration. I will commit a strong representation of women in our PDP government. “I am not talking politics here. I am emotionally and sentimentally attached to women because I was brought up by women; my grand- mother and my mother “. Atiku disclosed that he had pulled out about 45,000 Nigerian families out of poverty by giving life-saving loans to women from a microfinance bank he established. He said the microfinance bank run by experts on Bangladesh model is one of the best in the country today and that he as a matter of policy directed that 80 percent of the bank’s loans should be given to women. “If you want to eradicate poverty, empower women”, he said. Henry Omunu & Tunde Opalana, Abuja