By Peter Usman://

Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Nigeria, Abubakar Malami, has explained why President Muhammadu Buhari denied assent to the Electoral (Amendment) Bill, saying that the law had not captured the interest of all Nigerians.

The Minister, in a live radio programme in Abuja, the Minister asserted that the new law “has an excessive cost implication, is discriminatory, as well as supportive of insecurity”

Malami explained that signing the Bill into law will only initiate a new crisis that will lead to court cases.

According to the Minister “What you should understand about the leadership of the country, most especially as it regards President Buhari on any law presented to him for signing, is that he is entitled to certain rights”

“When you talk about politics, he has rights. If you talk about the economy, the business community also has rights imposed on him. If you are talking about 60 per cent of Nigerians that are not politicians, if you talk about the economy, he also has rights. If you are talking about security, there is also what is expected from him. The President has to consider laws that are sustainable.

“The job of the President is that of politics, economy, business, security, legislation, politicians and non-politicians. This is because the leadership of the country is not for the politicians alone, it is a leadership that affects the social life of the people, their religion, economy, security and others. This is contrary to the leadership of the legislators, which is solely political.

“Therefore, the lawmakers are only concerned about their political inclination, while the President is concerned about the entire lives of Nigerians made up of politicians and non-politicians.

“Any bill signed into law by President Buhari is in the interest of all Nigerians irrespective of their inclinations. He is after satisfying the interest of the over 200 million Nigerians he is serving and not a particular sector.” Malami said.

Speaking on financial burden, Malami further observed: “For example, one of the reasons is that there are 18 political parties and a law is founded that will allow for direct primaries. The difference between this and the general elections is small because it allows for all Nigerians to come about and say their opinions.

“This means that you will repeat the general elections 18 times. Today, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC requires N305 billion for the 2023 general elections.

“Although the good side of the law is that INEC is required to monitor it. Therefore, if it is assumed that every political party will spend N200 billion. How much will then be spent in conducting the same primary election in 18 political parties just to produce a qualified candidate” h said.