- Senator Ben Bruce has disclosed that the Senate is ready to join the House of Reps to override any veto by the president on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill
- He stated that the legislators were tasked with the responsibility of making laws which must be obeyed by everyone; including the executive branch of government
- Bruce stated that the president had just 30 days; after which he would be overruled by the lawmakers, if he refused to sign the bill
The Senate has expressed its readiness to join the House of Representatives in overriding President Muhammadu Buhari’s veto on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, Punch reports.
The bill seeks to re-order the sequence of the polls during general elections.
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NAIJ.com gathers that the development was made public by Senator Ben Murray-Bruce (PDP-Bayelsa), who stated that the lawmakers were set to override the president on the bill.
Bruce opined that the position taken on the amendment by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was “irrelevant” to the National Assembly and its legislative functions.
He stated: “If you understand the principle of separation of powers, you will see that is not necessary. We make laws for the country. That is our job, to make laws. We make the law and they obey it. It is non-negotiable.
“We make laws for the country and everybody including the executive must obey the laws we make. It is not for them to decide which laws to obey or which ones to accept or not.
“If the bill is not signed within 30 days, then we will override it. It is not important if the president signs it or not. Once it is 30 days, we will override it. It is irrelevant.
“They have just 30 days. If he vetoes it in 30 days, we will override him.”
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Recall that NAIJ.com previously reported that the House of Representatives on Wednesday, February 28, stated that lawmakers would not hesitate to override President Muhammadu Buhari’s veto if he refused to agree with the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
A controversial new Section 25 introduced into the Act changed the sequence of elections by making the National Assembly elections to come first while the presidential poll will now come last.
The amendment had passed in both the Senate and the House and its now awaiting Buhari’s assent. The House said it would remain firm on the bill, especially the provision on the re-ordering of the 2019 elections.
However, in the elections timetable already released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the amendment was passed, the presidential election was supposed to be the first.
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Source: Naija.ng