Lawan reiterates N’Assembly’s desire to pass Electoral Reforms Bill first quarter of 2021

By Tunde Opalana

Senate President Ahmad Lawan said on Wednesday that the National Assembly remained committed to its Legislative Agenda which also prioritises the Electoral Reforms Bill.

He, therefore, reiterated his earlier promise that the ninth National Assembly will fulfil its promise of passing the electoral reforms bill in the first quarter of next year.

Lawan made the remarks while declaring open a Public Hearing on a Bill for an Act to Repeal the Electoral Act No. 6 2010(as amended) and enact the Independent National Electoral Commission Act 2020.

The event which held at the National Assembly complex in Abuja was jointly organised by the Senate Committee on INEC and the House Committee on Electoral Matters.

Stressing the commitment of the parliament to work hard towards the passage of the bill, the Senate President said “I said that about two weeks ago quite rightly and we mean it.

People may chose to accuse us for any other thing but not what we do here. “We remain committed to all the issues we have considered important in our Legislative Agenda.

“Without anybody holding us responsible, we have achieved most not those things that we have set as targets and Electoral Act amendment is one of those targets.

“By the Grace of God, we will work so hard to pass it before the end of the first quarter of next year,” Lawan said.

The Senate President said the much awaited Petroleum Industry Bill(PIB) would be accorded similar treatment by the National Assembly. Lawan said the target is to pass the PIB before the end of the second quarter of next year.

“In the National Assembly here and particularly the ninth Assembly, we have set a Legislative Agenda in the Senate. They have one in the House.

Although they are similar, we have consistently remained focused on the Electoral Act amendment and Constitutional amendment that may also refine the Electoral Act and the political environment generally in Nigeria,” Lawan said.

The essence of the reformation, according to the chairman, House Committee on Electoral Matters, Hon. Aishatu Jibril Dukku, is to “regulate the conduct of Federal, State and Area Council elections”.

If eventually passed, the reformation will “ make provision for the restriction of the qualification for elective office to relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended); use of card readers and other technological devices in elections and political party primaries, to provide a time line for the submission of list of candidates, criteria for substitution of candidates, limit of campaign expenses and address the omission of names of candidates or logo if political parties”.

The bill according to the joint committee, canvasses for settling issues of concern to the electoral framework ahead of the 2023 elections.

Such issues include, “the use of smart card readers and electronic voting system, criteria for substitution of candidates, disclosure if source of funds contributed to political parties, replacement of lost or destroyed permanent voters card, penalty for the possession of fake voters card and dates for conducting primary election.

The bill seeks to address many loopholes in the electoral system will amend over 300 clauses.

The Director, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), Clement Nwankwo in his address at the public hearing, commended the National Assembly for the courage to amend the extant electoral laws and the desire to speedily pass a new electoral law in the first quarter of 2021.

Nwankwo urged the lawmakers to keep the timeline set for the passage while he cautioned that the public will hold the parliament responsible for failing to give Nigeria a new electoral law.

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The Director if Programme, YIAGA Africa, Cynthia Mbamalu said the expected fresh electoral law should address present concerns and pave way for future engagements of the nation’s democracy.

She said the legal framework should strengthen the independence of INEC. She called for gender balance in the polity for sustainable democracy as well as adequate provision for prosecution if electoral offenders.