Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Rep Benjamin Kalu (APC, Abia) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to make the Electoral Act one of the legacies he would bequeath to Nigerians when he leaves office in 2023.
Addressing newsmen on Thursday, Kalu said the signing of the Electoral Act amendment bill by the President would be a big legacy the President would be leaving for Nigerians.
Kalu said the National Assembly was committed to bequeathing an enduring electoral act that would promote democratic tenets to the Nigerian people.
He said “our commitment to the Electoral Act amendment bill is still as strong as when we started. We will fulfill our obligation as contained in the constitution. As usual, we have pushed the ball to the court of the executive. The bill has been transmitted to the executive and it is before the President as we speak. We are hopeful that soon, it will be back with the assent of Mr. President.”
While refusing to say what the lawmakers will do if the President refused to sign the law again, Kalu said “I will not like to preempt the President on the Electoral Act.
“The bill is before him and the President said he wants to leave a legacy of democratic practice and he has very little time left to be in office. If I were him, I will take it as one of the last in the legacy I will leave for our democracy in Nigeria.
“We will not play the ball that is in his court. We will always push it back in line with constitutional provisions and whatever he does with it is entirely his own. What we will do, we cannot say now until we get to that bridge and we will cross it when we get there.”
He also said that the ad-hoc committee on constitution review had been busy with constitutional amendment and they had been meeting seriously in line with “our promise to Nigerians that the next on our schedule will be a review of the constitution.”
He said although it is not something that is going to be automatic, “the right steps are being taken to make sure that at the end of the day, Nigerians would have a renewed constitution that would enhance our democracy.
