Breaking: Buhari declines assent to Electoral Amendment Bill 2018

President Muhammadu Buhari has on Tuesday declined assent to the Electoral Amendment Bill 2018. This was made known in a letter he sent to the National Assembly, rejecting the amendment to the Electoral Act bill. 

Senate President Bukola Saraki and President Muhammadu Buhari According to Buhari, the amendment to the sequence of elections in Section 25 of the principal act, may infringe upon the constitutionally guaranteed discretion of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organize, undertake and supervise elections provided in Section 15(A) of the third statue to the Constitution. 

The amend to Section 138 of the principal act to delete two crucial grounds upon which an election may be challenged by candidates, unduly limits the rights of candidates in elections to a free and fair electoral review process. 

The amendment to Section 152 Subsection 325 of the Principal Act may raise Constitutional issues over the competence of the National Assembly to legislate over local government elections. More details later.