President Buhari Will Assent Electoral Act Amendment Bill, If… – Malami

The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of Federation, Abubakar Malami, on Tuesday noted that President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to improving the country’s electoral reform.

Malami stated this while speaking at an electoral town hall event on Channels Television on Tuesday.

The Minister in his statement claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission has been given a free hand by the President Buhari-led government, while the government also respects the decisions of the judiciary more than any other administration.

According to him, the situation that saw the All Progressives Congress lose out in Zamfara and Rivers State during the election are signs that the Buhari government has allowed the judiciary to strive.

Malami said, “We are all living witnesses to the fact that INEC as an umpire reserves exclusive rights to determine constitutional compliance of a political party in terms of fielding a candidate.”

“For the first time, the judiciary has been granted its right to determine the validity of the electoral process.”

“It is not correct to conclude that this administration has not supported the evolution of the electoral process.”

He further stated that President Buhari will surely assent to electoral act amendment bill provided it does not contravene the nation’s constitution.

He added, “Within the context of the legality of the electoral act amendment, I give you my commitment that the President will certainly assent, provided that there are no constitutional infractions.”

The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, recently stated that the electoral reforms will address the issues spotted during the previous elections.

Atiku in his message on Democracy Day noted that the electoral process needs to be improved to ensure that votes are not only counted but that they do count.