Electoral bill: National Assembly’ll Remove Direct Primary Clause, Says Gbajabiamila

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, has said the National Assembly will revisit the Electoral Act Amendment Bill and remove the direct primary clause in it after it resumes from recess.

Gbajabiamila, while unveiling some projects in Surulere, Lagos State, on Thursday, also ruled out the possibility of the National Assembly vetoing the bill earlier rejected by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

He said, “If you follow the history of the amendment of the direct and indirect primary bill, I initiated that amendment bill for a good reason and it is for people to participate in elections. These are the people you see around when you campaign every four years.

“For me, it does not make sense that these people do not have a voice in who represents them. It is part of being used and I didn’t like that. Most of us are reformers and one of the ways to reform the system is to make it more accountable and to make the people have a voice in who represents them as opposed to a few people sitting in the four corners of a wall and writing results.

“There is a process; when we come back from recess, as I said, the House will look at those amendments. We will sit as the National Assembly, look at the reasons and at that point, consider removing that clause and pass the bill so that we do not throw away the baby with the bathwater.

“But then, it is not my decision to make. It is the decision of the National Assembly; if they determine that the reasons are not good enough, then, there is a process prescribed by the constitution.”

The projects unveiled by the Speaker included the Obele mini stadium, Dosunmu Road, Adedoyin Road, Ojikutu, Ishola Road by Randle, Rasaq Balogun mini stadium and the Razaq Balogun Road and Adeniran Ogunsanya Street, all in Surulere.

PUNCH