President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law, which is an important milestone in his administration.
The President assented to the bill at post meridian, Friday February 25 (today) in a brief ceremony held at the Council Chamber of the Aso Villa in Abuja.
The President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, witnessed the signing of the bill.
Members of the President’s cabinet in attendance included: his Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha.
This comes barely a week to the expiration of the timeframe the President has to take a decision on the proposed legislation, as required by the Nigerian Constitution.
Having received the bill from the National Assembly on January 31, various stakeholders including political actors and civil society groups had awaited its signing into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Amid an outcry over the delay in signing the bill into law, sources had indicated that President Buhari was billed to give his assent on Wednesday.
However, signing of the bill failed to take place as scheduled and was rescheduled to Friday (today).