President Muhammadu Buhari has returned the Electoral Amendment Bill to the National Assembly just a few days after the Daily Sun reported that he was considering rejecting the bill over its removal of indirect primaries from the legislation.
Even as Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State expressed her displeasure with the National Assembly's "infringement" of parties' rights.
Direct primaries, Uzodimma stated in an interview with Daily Sun, will make political parties weak, especially those with limited resources to pay for direct primaries.
It was disclosed by a senator who spoke with Daily Sun, that the bill was handed back to Congress in a letter written to the two most powerful members of the House and Senate.
As a result of INEC's high cost of conducting direct primaries, President Muhammadu Buhari was quoted as saying that the total cost of conducting such primaries is estimated at N500 billion.
They met with INEC chairman Professor Yakubu Mahmoud, who warned him on the hazards this law would pose to future elections, according to the president's statement.
They'll be reading the contents of the president's letter when they reconvene next week, when Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila are in session.
Proposing a modification to the 1999 constitution does not comply with its provisions, Uzodimma said, emphasizing that political parties' sovereignty and their freedom to choose between direct or indirect primaries should not be messed with. It was insensitive to pass laws that could not be implemented, he argued.
More than two weeks into his presidency, President Muhammadu Buhari has faced rising pressure from governors elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Because they are at odds with their state senators and representatives, many governors demanded that the Electoral Act be changed so that indirect primaries could no longer be used.
APC sources tell Daily Sun that although while the governors didn't address the ongoing debate over the removal of indirect primaries from the Electoral Act by members of the National Assembly, they did discuss the subject.
The source stated that the three APC governors, who were acting on behalf of their colleagues, encouraged the president to return the Amendment Bill to the National Assembly to address some of the concerns of stakeholders.
National Assembly leaders, who have so far ignored the concerns of the state's governors, may lose out in the current power play, according to a source.
According to the report, many APC MPs have already expressed their displeasure with the party's structure being taken over by governors ahead of the 2023 elections.
According to the report, MPs believe direct primaries will increase their chances of re-election in 2023.
On the same topic of Electoral Amendment Bills, Senate President Lawan met with President Buhari two weeks ago for a similar meeting. In front of reporters, he expressed displeasure at legislators' efforts to persuade the president not to sign the bill.
Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, unlike Lawan, emphasized why the elimination of indirect primaries from the Bill was good for Nigeria's democracy during a recent visit to the president.
South West leaders have also taken issue with the Speaker, who spearheaded the abolition of indirect primaries from the 2010 Electoral Amendment Act, a source claimed.
The PDP, unlike the APC, is unanimous in its appeal for President Buhari to revoke the decision or trash the entire amendment.