Strong indications have emerged that President Muhammadu Buhari may withhold ssent to the Electoral Amendment Bill currently on his table.
The Bill was forwarded to the President by the National Assembly on November 19 and Buhari is expected to sign it within 30 days.
A contentious clause in the Bill is the adoption of direct primaries which did not go down well with some politicians, including the governors who are nursing senatorial ambitions in 2023.
The Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, who featured in a programme on Channels Television, insisted that whether Buhari signs the bill into law or not, it does not change his reputation as a true democrat.
He said: “In terms of his image for democratic value, that image is made already. It is almost cast in concrete. You will find that one election after the other has been better under President Buhari.
“Under President Buhari, the governing party has lost — states, legislative seats, and so many elections.
“It didn’t use to be. It used to be that whichever party was in power won all elections before by hook or crook; not under President Buhari.
“So, his reputation as somebody who wants to leave clean elections for Nigeria has already been made whether the electoral act is signed or not. It doesn’t distract from that reputation.”