The Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila on Tuesday said the leadership of the House plans to reintroduce the Electoral Amendment Act Bill on January 19 for consideration.

“We must not allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. Therefore, the House will reintroduce the amendment,” Mr Gbajabiamila said at the resumption of plenary for the 2022 legislative year.

He explained that the lower chamber would work quickly to address the mitigating concerns, pass the bill and send it back to the president for assent.

The planned reintroduction of the Bill followed President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to sign it after it was passed by the National Assembly in 2021.

The President had frowned at the mandatory direct party primaries mode imposed on all political parties.

Mr Gbajabiamila, however, said that he remained convinced that direct primary election was valuable for building accountability in the political system.

“On issues relating to inelegant drafting and other technical errors in the Bill, this is a matter of concern as it appears the version sent to the President differs from what is circulating in the public domain.

“However, in December 2021, I appointed a technical team to look into the issue. I expect to have their report within the next day or two so that we can proceed to the next stage,” he said.

Mr Gbajabiamila said the House had less than 13 months to the next general election, noting that time was of the essence.

The speaker said that the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill included many other provisions that would serve the country’s democracy well, adding that the country cannot afford to throw away the baby with the bathwater.

He also said that the current constitutional review effort was as crucial as the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill.

Mr Gbajabiamila stated that amending the nation’s constitution to address longstanding areas of disagreement and remove the vestiges of militarism from the country’s democracy was one of the central commitments the House would pursue.

(NAN)