Indications have emerged that President Muhammadu Buhari has not signed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, contrary to the notion in some quarters.
The amendment is said to be important for the participation of statutory delegates at the forthcoming political parties’ primaries and national conventions respectively. This is because the statutory delegates of political parties stand the risk of exclusion from the exercises if the President does not sign the amendment Bill latest today.
There were rumours yesterday that the President had already signed the bill, which was transmitted to him last week Friday. However, some Presidency officials have written the reports off, describing them as untrue, arguing that the bill could not have been signed-in secret, especially as the President had been out of the country in the last 48 hours and only returned to the country late yesterday.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, who just returned to the country with the President, said the news of the signing, which had already gone viral on social media, was not to his knowledge, saying “it is news to me too.”
Also speaking on the controversy, Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly matters, House of Representatives, Umar El-Yakub, said the viral news could not be true, citing reasons for his conclusion.
According to El-Yakub, the President “couldn’t have signed it yesterday because he was out of the country and he couldn’t have signed already because he is just entering the country. “I also cannot tell you that he will still not sign it or will not sign it. He is the President. But if it will be signed later, we will all know,” he said.
Meanwhile, the President, yesterday evening, returned to Abuja after a two-day visit to Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at about 4 pm, along with the members of his entourage.
