The Spokesman for the House of Representatives, Rep. Benjamin Kalu (APC-Abia) has said the house did not override President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill in the interest of nation building.
Mr Kalu made this known on Wednesday while briefing newsmen at the National Assembly Complex after the house amended the electoral act to allow for indirect primaries by political parties.
The Electoral Act Amendment Bill passed by parliament in 2021 was declined assent by President Buhari.
Mr Buhari had cited the need to allow political parties conduct their internal affairs without interference, cost of direct primaries, insecurity, COVID-19 as reasons for declining assent.
Mr Kalu said that the house decided not to override the veto in the interest of democracy and for want of time as there shall be general elections in 2023.
“We cannot throw the baby with the bath water, we cannot sacrifice good in search of perfect.
“We have powers to override the president but for the sake of time and in the spirit of nation building, we looked at the reasons the president gave and weighed it and we decided to go down this route.
“No law is cast in stone, it is still subject to change in the near future,” he said.
NAN
