Senator representing Ekiti North Senatorial District, Olubunmi Adetunmbi, said on Wednesday that President Muhammadu Buhari did not reject the Electoral Act as being perceived in various quarters.
He said the president understood the collaborative need of the executive and parliament and he requested for the amendment to clauses that deal with ‘direct or indirect’ mode of the party primaries and not a rejection of the bill.
In a statement, which he personally signed and made available to journalists at the National Assembly complex Abuja, the lawmaker noted that most political parties already have provisions for direct or indirect primary elections and that is within the party’s discretion, noting that there was nothing new.
Senator Adetunmbi’s statement comes after plans to amend the copy of the bill earlier vetoed by the President and which was returned to the National Assembly before lawmakers went on Christmas recess.
He warned the Senators not to make laws that put Nigeria’s democracy in jeopardy, insisting that the party primaries is a step down of freedom in favour of political parties.
He said: “Most political parties have in their Constitution, the exercise of discretion in the use of direct or indirect and consensus approaches to candidates selection.”