December 22, (THEWILL) – Strong indications emerged on Tuesday that senators may override President Muhammadu Buhari’s veto on the Electoral Amendment Bill, 2021, on Wednesday.
The development followed President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to assent to the Electoral Amendment Bill 2021 in a letter that was acknowledged and read in the upper chamber by Senate President Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan during Tuesday’s plenary.
Senator Thompson Sekibo, representing Rivers East Senatorial district, during an interview confirmed that signatures of lawmakers were being collated in earnest to override President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday.
The lawmaker described as a huge disappointment, President Buhari’s failure to assent to the amendment bill, saying that senators would rise to the occasion irrespective of political differences.
Sekibo believed that majority of the senators were not happy, disclosing that about 73 signatures have so far been collated for Wednesday’s override of President Buhari’s veto.
However, efforts to access a list of the senators who have already put down their signature proved abortive. A senator from a northwest state who is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) said, he and “many more others,” are committed to overriding President Buhari’s veto tomorrow.
“We are 109 in number and I can vouch for myself and many others that we form the required number in tomorrow’s plenary to override President Buhari.”
“Remember that it’s not only direct or indirect primary election that was amended. There are several other items that are of immense benefit to the political developments of the nation,” he said
The lawmaker, who insisted on anonymity, further hinted that they may convene an emergency meeting of northern senators before tomorrow to convince others to see reason.
THEWILL reports that President Muhammadu Buhari had written to the two chambers of the National Assembly, declining assent to the Electoral Amendment Bill.
Buhari’s letter to lawmakers cited several reasons he declined assent, including security concerns and the cost inherent in the conduct of direct primary elections.
Other lawmakers who spoke in similar vein, hinted that overriding Buhari’s veto would precede passage of the 2022 budget.
