Bujari haven't received Electoral Act for assent

President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to receive the latest version of the amendments made to the 2010 Electoral Act by the National Assembly, Daily Trust has gathered.

Presidency sources said the Act has not been transmitted to the President for assent to enable the country use the new law for the conduct of the 2019 general elections.

“It has not been transmitted,” a source told one of our correspondents.

Daily Trust reports that the both chambers of the National Assembly had weeks ago passed the amendment made to the latest version of the Electoral Act before proceeding on two weeks recess for oversight.

The lawmakers adopted the use of card reader for the conduct of the 2019 general elections.

The Senate was first to approve the fresh amendment on October 23, this year and a week later, the House of Representatives adopted the same document passed by the Red Chamber.

‎Our correspondents report that the approval for the use of the card reader came less than four months to the 2019 general elections.

The amendment showed that the card reader would only be deployed for accreditation of registered voters at the various polling units across the country.

Where the card reader malfunctions and another one is not deployed within three hours to the end of voting, the Senate said‎, election in such a polling unit shall be cancelled and a new card reader be deployed within 24 hours for a fresh election.

The fresh amendment was as a result of certain observations made‎ by President Buhari in the earlier bill passed and transmitted to him by both chambers of the federal legislature.

‎When contacted, the Special Adviser to the Senate President on Media and Publicity Yusuph Olaniyonu referred our correspondent to the Senate spokesman, Sen Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC, Niger).

But Sabi could not be reached as his mobile phone was switched off at the time of filing this report.

However, House spokesman Abdulrazak Namdas (APC, Adamawa) said the two chambers have since harmonised their positions on the bill and will soon transmit it to the president for assent.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly, Senator Ita Enang told our reporter that: “I will need to relate to the National Assembly to be able to answer your question.”