Senators and members of the House of Representatives are expected to resume legislative activities for the year 2022 fiscal year, otherwise known as the electioneering year.
Some of the lawmakers who travelled to their respective constituencies have returned back to Abuja in preparation for the resumption.
Some of the legislative activities expected to take the front burner include: motions ranging from various insecurity challenges ravaging the country including the terrorists’ attack on Tukur Buratai Institute for War and Peace, a research institute of the Nigerian Army University located in Buratai village, Biu Local Government Area of
Borno State, among others.
The lawmakers are also expected to resume debate on President Muhammadu Buhari’s letter on the Electoral Act Amendment bill, 2021, especially on the imposition of the direct primary clause on the election into elective office.
According to Buhari, “the indirect consequences of the issue of high cost and monetisation are that it will raise financial crimes and constitute further strain on the economy.
“It will also stifle smaller parties without the enormous required resources to mobilise all party members for the primaries. This is not healthy for the sustenance of multi-party democracy in Nigeria.
“The amendment as proposed is a violation of the underlying spirit of democracy which is characterised by freedom of choices. Political party membership is a voluntary exercise of the constitutional right to freedom of association. Several millions of Nigerians are not card-carrying members of any political party.
“Thus, the emphasis should be on enabling qualified Nigerians to vote for the candidate of their choice during general elections as a means of participation in governance and furtherance of the concept of
universal adult suffrage or universal franchise.”
The Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila while delivering his end of the year speech on Tuesday, 21st December, 2021 shortly after reading the President’s communication to the House on his decision not to assent the bill, assured that the National Assembly would on return in the New Year “resume our efforts to reform the electoral system in our country. And we will do it together. That is what the Nigerian people expect of us, and we will do our duty for God and our country.
“Whichever way it pans out, we must not throw out the baby with the bathwater and must deliver a credible and enduring electoral system to Nigerians. Every law is a living document and as long as it has breath, it must survive,” he noted.
While noting that National Assembly has a duty to ensure a smooth process, Hon. Gbajabiamila maintained that the lawmakers would collectively decide the fate of the Bill.
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