By CHUKS OKOCHA, Abuja

Civil Society Groups have expressed concern that President Mohammadu Buhari did not inform the National Assembly of the discovery of errors in the cross referencing contained in the electoral bill in his letter to the National Assembly when he declined to assent the bill into law.

This, they said, was because the errors in cross referencing was one of the basic reasons why President Buhari declined to sign the electoral bill into law in 2018.

The civil society groups said that the decision of the Presidency to keep silent on the errors of the cross referencing was a plot to reject the electoral bill on the ground that once the direct primary clause was removed and sent back, it would be rejected again because of the errors in the cross referencing.

Specifically, they expressed worry over the errors in section 50 of the clause that has no bearing in the bill.

For instance, “In Section 50 (2), Conduct of poll by open secret ballot Subject to Section 63 of this Act, voting at an election and transmission of results under this Act shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the Commission.

“Section 63 was wrongly referenced in the subsection. There is no relationship between Section 50 and Section 63 of the bill

“To reflect the correct cross reference, Section 63 should be replaced with Section 60 on counting of votes and forms”, they said

The civil society groups also gave a January 30 2022 deadline to the National to ensure that the bill is transmitted to the President for his assent.

CSOs, who made this call yesterday in Abuja comprises Yiaga Africa;

International Press Centre (IPC); Centre for Citizens with Disability (CCD), The Albino Foundation

CLEEN Foundation, Institute for Media and Society (IMS), Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF).

Others are: Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), Partners for Electoral Reform (PER), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) and Nigerian Network of Non-Governmental Organisations (NNNGO).

Addressing a press conference yesterday in Abuja, on behalf of CSOs, the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo said: “We recall that in August 2018, President Buhari premised his decision of declining assent to the 2018 Electoral (Amendment) Bill on certain drafting errors and cross-referencing gaps in the Bill. Therefore, it is imperative for the National Assembly to ensure due diligence before transmitting the Electoral Bill 2021 back to the President for assent to prevent the current bill from suffering the same fate.”

According to the CSOs, “Cross-referencing errors were identified in five sections of the bill, grammatical errors in two sections, duplicate provisions in three sections and conflicting provisions in one section of the bill. Without doubt, these errors will occasion controversies and legal complications in the implementation of the bill when enacted.”

Accordingly, “As part civil society’s contributions to the ongoing reform process, a detailed memorandum was submitted to the leadership of the National Assembly on December 29, 2021. The memorandum highlights the affected sections and specific recommendations for addressing the errors.

“As the nation prepares for the off-cycle elections in the FCT, Ekiti and Osun and the 2023 general elections, a new legal framework is required to safeguard the integrity of these elections. The Electoral Bill 2021 is replete with provisions that address electoral manipulation and the intractable and protracted problem of poor election logistics. Furthermore, the bill strengthens INEC’s financial independence and it also empowers the commission to reject falsified election results.

“The newly introduced timelines for key electoral activities in the bill will facilitate early electoral preparations and promote issue-based political engagement. Therefore, it is imperative for the National Assembly and the President to ensure the electoral reform process is concluded expeditiously. Any further delay in concluding the process of enacting the Electoral Bill 2021 will directly impact preparations for the 2023 General Election.

“As noted earlier in our previous statement, a climate of legal uncertainties will befall upcoming elections and Nigeria will lose the opportunity to test the efficacy of new innovations introduced in the electoral Bill, especially during the off-cycle elections in Ekiti and Osun, before deployment for the 2023 General Elections”, the executive director of Yiaga stated.

They recommend that the National Assembly should address the identified drafting errors in the eleven sections of bill before re-transmitting the Electoral Bill 2021 for Presidential Assent.

Also, the civil society groups called on the National Assembly to expeditiously conclude this process and re-transmit the Electoral Bill 2021 to the President for assent within 30 days from 21st December 2021. (Courtesy THISDAY)

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