PATRICK ABANG, Calabar –
A constitutional lawyer and human rights advocate, Bar. Fidelis Onyebueke, has said that the Nigerian Senate as presently constituted cannot override President Muhammadu Buhari even though they have the capacity to do so.
NATIONAL ACCORD recalls that over 73 senators have indicated interest to override President Buhari’s veto of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
Specifically, Senator George Sekibo (PDP Rivers) is reported to have said that various signatures have been collected from the Senators willing to override the president, and the signatures cut across party lines.
But reacting to this in an interview with NATIONAL ACCORD in Calabar, the Cross River State capital on Tuesday, Bar. Onyebueke said the lawmakers cannot make bold their threat and pass the bill into law
According to him: “They are rubber stamp and cannot make bold their threat and pass the bill.”
” How can they override the President when he is an APC (All-Progressives Congress), Senate President is APC, Speaker of the House of Representatives is APC?”
” We need a democratic process that will give benefits to all Nigerians. If they assent to the electoral bill, it will bring sanity to our political system.”
On direct primaries, Onyebueke said the electoral process would have better integrity if direct primaries are conducted, instead of governors manipulating the indirect primaries.
On the 2023 general election, he said if other zones support the presidency of Igbo extraction, it will be possible to achieve that.
He disclosed that negotiation are ongoing to rally support for the Igbo presidency ahead of 2023 general election.
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