It is just a matter of hours for President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the re-worked Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, disclosed this on Tuesday during an interview on Sunrise Daily.
“He (Buhari) will sign it (the bill) any moment from now,” he said while appearing as a guest on the Channels Television breakfast programme. “It could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be anytime, but within the 30 days.
“It could be signed today; it could be signed tomorrow. In a matter of hours, not days. Hours could be 24 hours, it could be 48 hours; not days, not weeks.”
This comes nearly a month after lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives chambers of the National Assembly passed the bill.
Passed on January 25, the bill was transmitted to President Buhari a week after, as confirmed by his Senior Special Assistant on NASS Matters (Senate), Senator Babajide Omoworare.
Weeks after receiving the bill, the President has yet to give his assent – an action that has sparked an outcry from critics who fear he might reject it again.
Defending his principal, Adesina slammed those accusing the President of delaying the signing of the bill, stressing that the Nigerian leader’s action was still within the requirements of the Constitution.
He stated that it would only be appropriate to say President Buhari has acted against the law if exceeds the 30-day window provided by the law.
“You know before the President will put pen to paper on any legislation, particularly this one that has to do with our electoral fortunes, it has to be looked at and looked at.
“He has to buy opinions from different stakeholders and having been satisfied that the necessary due diligence had been done and he will not be making any error, then he will sign it, and I tell you that Nigerians will get to hear about this bill in hours,” Adesina said.
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