President Muhammadu Buhari has failed to sign the electoral bill as proposed by the lawmakers following the December 19 deadline. The President has also failed to communicate his acceptance or rejection of the bill to the House.
Why it matters?
Both the House of Assembly and House of Representatives amended the electoral bill to include technological processes into accreditation of voters, electronic voting and electronic transmission of results.
The lawmakers then gave the President a 30-day deadline to either accept or reject the bill. As the deadline expired on Sunday 19th December 2021, according to the law, if two-thirds of the House vote in favor of that bill, it can be passed.
As it stands, this is the situation that surrounds the passing of the electoral bill. The refusal of the President has enraged several civil rights groups; a particular civil society group is currently in contention of a protest at the National Assembly, their statement read.