Nigerians pressurised Buhari to sign amended Electoral Act —Senator Gyang

The senator representing Plateau North, Istifanus Gyang, has stated that President Muhammadu Buhari signed the amended Electoral Act under intense pressure by Nigerians saying if the President had vetoed the bill for a second time, nothing would have stopped the National Assembly from overriding him.

Senator Gyang who stated this in an interview with newsmen in Jos said many Nigerians were initially disappointed by the posture of the President towards the bill from the onset, adding that his signing the bill was becoming belated therefore it did not elicit commendations from many Nigerians.

He said, “Signing into law the amended Electoral Act by the President has been long in waiting, because for us at the National Assembly, we have been longing to give Nigeria an electoral process that is credible, transparent and where the outcome of the election will reflect the reality and the will of the people.

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“We want to appreciate the President for at least conceding under pressure to the will and wish of Nigerians.

“We the members of the National Assembly were waiting to see what he will do and he has just done what would have saved him an embarrassment otherwise, we would have gone ahead to override him if he had vetoed the bill.”

He, however, commended Nigerians particularly the civil society for sustaining pressure on the President to sign into law the Electoral Act which he described as a very critical responsibility placed on the President by the constitution.

He expressed gratitude that Nigeria now has an Electoral Act that empowers INEC to perform its duty judiciously as an election umpire.

Also, a member representing Jos South/Jos East in the House of Representatives, Hon. Dachung Musa Bagos said the Electoral Act would give Nigerians a free, fair and credible election in 2023.

“Now that the Electoral Act has been signed into law, we expect that the 2023 election should be one of the best free and fair elections Nigeria has ever had.

“We have had a lot of laws but at the end of the day, nobody has ever been brought to book when they go against the law; and by this, we expect that all elections would be by the law,” he said.

He explained that the electoral act has exonerated members of the National Assembly from the perception of a section of the country who see them as a rubber stamp assembly.