The Attorney-General of Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to improving electoral reform in the country adding that he is certain the President will assent amendment to the electoral act.
The Minister said this while appearing at an electoral town hall event on Channels Television on Tuesday.
According to him, the Buhari government has allowed for the independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as an institution and also respected the decisions of the judiciary more than any other administration.
Malami said that what happened in Zamfara and Rivers States during the election showed clearly that the current administration has allowed the judiciary to strive.
“We are all living witnesses to the fact that INEC as an umpire reserves exclusive rights to determine constitutional compliance of a political party in terms of fielding a candidate.
“For the first time, the judiciary has been granted its right to determine the validity of the electoral process.
“It is not correct to conclude that this administration has not supported the evolution of the electoral process.”
He said President Buhari will surely assent an amendment to the electoral act provided it does not contravene the nation’s constitution.
He added, “Within the context of the legality of the electoral act amendment, I give you my commitment that the President will certainly assent, provided that there are no constitutional infractions.”
Most recently, a former Vice President ,Atiku Abubakar had pointed out that there is an urgent need for electoral reforms that will address the lapses in previous elections.
In a Democracy Day message to Nigerians, Abubakar said that the electoral process needs to be improved to ensure that votes are not only counted but that they do count.
