20110110 reuters
ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan signed an amended constitution on Monday, cementing the legal framework for presidential, parliamentary and state governorship elections in April.
Parliament initially passed an amendment last July bringing polls forward to January, but then passed a second amendment in October pushing them back again to April after the electoral commission said the timetable was too tight.
There was debate over whether Jonathan needed to sign the second amendment in order for it to become law.
"I hereby sign into law the amended constitution as submitted to me by the National Assembly," Jonathan said in front of reporters in the presidential villa.
Some analysts had raised concern that a candidate defeated in the April elections could have used Jonathan's failure to sign the amended constitution as a basis for challenging the legality of the polls.
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