By Emmanuel Ogala and Ini Ekott

October 24, 2010 02:09AM
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Following the defeat of an attempt to alter the 2010 Electoral Act in a manner that will allow political appointees regain their eligibility as voting delegates at the conventions of political parties, presidency aides appear set to launch a new tactics to woo lawmakers into re-introducing the “dead” bill.

Sources say the senate’s decision to kill that aspect of the electoral law was received as a rude shock by the president and his campaign team.

However, president Jonathan’s campaign organisation has decided to start a fresh attempt to lobby the lawmakers to re-introduce the bill.

Even though the standing rules of both chambers of the national assembly prohibit the re-introduction of a bill that has been rejected, Sully Abu, head of publicity for the Goodluck Campaign Organization told NEXT they will stand their ground.

“We haven’t given up. We will go back and negotiate and ask questions,” Mr. Abu said. “There is not absolute victory or defeat. There is no monopoly of wisdom either in the presidency or the national assembly. We hope that we will have a meeting of the mind with the senate to see sense on the matter.” Analysts, however,

believe that judging from the unity predicated on common interest displayed by the senate in arriving at their decision on Wednesday; the Jonathan campaign team might find it extremely difficult to re introduce the bill.

Last Wednesday, the senate acted in a largely unified manner to shut down Mr Jonathan’s attempt to reshape the 2010 Electoral Act. Their action was devoid of the usual political or ethnic sentiments that usually colour similar debates.

“It was obvious their actions were premeditated,” Fred Idowu, an independent political analyst said.

“They were determined to “kill the bill” and perhaps send a message to the presidency. The senators were convinced the bill is toxic to the current electoral act and self serving - to the president - judging from the changes the bill proposed to bring.” The bill proposed three major amendments to the current 2010 electoral act. It sought to give the leadership of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the power to determine the sequence in which elections are held; it also wanted political parties to adopt the system of indirect primaries - the type of primaries usually adopted by PDP - for the choice of its candidates.

What the amendment meant to do is to allow political parties to change at will the rules governing procedures for primaries by issuing new guidelines, rather than relying on the provisions of the current 2010 Electoral Act.

The bill proposed that Section 87( of the Electoral Act 2010 should be deleted. That section provides that no political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate at the convention or congress of any political party for the purpose of nomination of candidates for any elections.

Section 87( is viewed as revolutionary because it prevents the president and governors from flooding political party congresses with ministers, special advisers, commissioners and other political appointees who would vote to choose their boss or the candidate of their boss’ choice.

While the civil society and the opposition - both within and outside the PDP - described the action of the senate as patriotic, Mr. Abu said the setback at the senate has sharpened their resolve to move on stronger.

Loyal appointees

The President’s campaign team greatly rely on the votes of the various political appointees serving in this administration to push their principal through in the primaries of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Before President Jonathan made up his mind to run for the presidency in the forthcoming elections,

there were 1027 splinter campaign organizations sponsored by political appointees within the government.

During the presidential declaration which took place mid September, an official at the presidential villa said that the level of sponsorship the president received from his appointees was up to 95 per cent.

Attendees at the declaration were also seen clad in uniformed dresses bearing their support for the president and which political appointee was sponsoring them.

NEXT also gathered that the lawmakers, in the closed meetings, had considered this impassioned support from his staff before arriving at the decision not to allow voting by personal aides; bearing in mind it will give the president an unfair edge over the other contestants.

Goodluck Campaign Organization, however, disagrees with that all appointees are rooting for the president.

“The fact that they are appointees does not make it compulsory that they will vote for the president. After all, you will not have a gun to their heads that they must vote for him,” Mr. Abu argued. “These are people that were carefully chosen across various areas of the country, so they represent the different sections of the country so they have legitimate political interest and representation.”



http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5633602-146/jonathans_aides_woo_lawmakers_on_dead.csp

ferado

How far wit the brain surgery u went for? Are u feeling worse now?