President Muhammadu Buhari has withheld his assent to the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2021.
The development was contained in a letter to the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, by Buhari as revealed by AriseTV.
It the letter, the President said the prevailing situation in the country would not allow him to sign the bill.
Amongst other reasons, he cited the high cost of conducting direct primaries, security challenge of monitoring the election, violation of citizens rights and marginalisation of small political parties.
President Buhari also noted that adopting direct primaries also has implications on the rights of citizens to participate in the government as constitutionally insured.
According to the President, the conduct of direct primaries will lead to a significant spike in the cost of conducting primary elections by parties, as well as the increase in the cost of monitoring such elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
He explained that the direct consequences of the high cost are monetisation and that it will drive and increase financial crimes and constitutes further strain on the economy.
In his view, Buhari said it will also stifle smaller parties without the enormous resources required to mobilise all party members for the primaries, a situation which he noted is not healthy for the sustenance of multiparty democracy in Nigeria.
The President further stated that security agencies will also be overstretched as direct primaries will be open to participation from all and sundry.
“Such large turnout without effective security coordination will also engender intimidation and disruptions, thereby raising credibility issues on the outcomes of such election,” he said.
Buhari said: “The amendment as proposed is the violation of the underlying spirit of democracy, which is characterized by freedom of choices of which political party membership is a voluntary exercise of the constitutional right of freedom of association.”
President Buhari also said that the proposed amendment might also give rise to a plethora of litigations based on diverse grounds and issues of law, including but not limited to the fact that the proposed amendment could not work in retrospect, given that the existing constitution of the parties already registered with the INEC permits direct, indirect and consensus primaries.
He said his decision is based on informed advice by relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the government and careful review of the bill in the light of the current realities prevalent in Nigeria.