Polls reordering: Senate re-introduces Electoral Act Amendment Bill

The Senate on Tuesday started a fresh move towards reordering the sequence of elections by reintroducing the bill to amend the Electoral Act 2010.

Our correspondent reports that the bill presented by Sen. Suleiman Nazif passed its first reading during plenary.

Following the resolve of the leadership of Senate and House of Representatives to harmonise position on the contentious amendment bill, the House of Representatives re-introduced its version last week.

It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari withheld assent to the first version of the bill which was introduced in the House of Representatives and passed by the National Assembly.

Buhari said the bill usurped the constitutional powers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to decide on election matters, including fixing the dates and the order they would be held.

In addition, the President stated that he was complying with the provisions of Section 58 of the 1999 Constitution, particularly sub-section 4, by refusing to sign the bill.

However, the development generated controversy whereby some lawmakers alleged that it was targeted at Buhari in the 2019 elections.

Also, the Federal High Court, Abuja, on March 14, asked the National Assembly not to take any further action on the Electoral Act amendment bill.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed made the order in a ruling delivered in an application filed by the Accord Party seeking a preservative order on the matter.

The judge said: “All parties in the suit are directed to maintain status quo pending the determination of the substantive suit between now and the next adjourned date.”