Rowdy session as Reps set to revisit controversial election sequence law

The leadership of House of Representatives on Wednesday disclosed that the controversial election sequence would soon be reintroduced.

According to Abdulrasak Namdas, chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, a bill on the re-ordering of election sequence is already in the offing.

The House had penultimate month stepped down the re-gazetted bill on reordering of election sequence which was rejected by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Meanwhile, the House during the plenary session passed through second reading the re-gazetted bill for an Act to amend the provisions of the Electoral Act, No 6, 2010 and Electoral Amendment Act, No 2015 to provide for timeline for the submission of list if candidates, criteria for substitution of candidates, limit if campaign expenses and address the omission of names of candidates or logo of political parties and for related matters.

In her lead debate, Aisha Dukku, chairman, House Committee on Electoral Matters explained that the proposed reform was aimed at consolidating on the gains of the 2015 elections and address the lacuna in the legal framework.

The legislation also seeks to provide legal framework for the use of card reader, which the Supreme Court pronounced as alien to the Electoral Act.

She added that the bill seeks to include corrupt practices and non-compliance of the use if the card reader as additional grounds for an election petition and as a reason to invalidate an election. It further seeks to penalise the interruption by any person of the announcement of election results by a returning officer at a collation centre by proposing a five year term or N500,000 fine or both. Another proposal seeks to amend section 150 to allow any police officer to prosecute electoral offences. this varies from the current practice that prohibits police officers who are not lawyers from appearing before the Court,” Dukku noted.

In swift response to the proposed amendment, Diri Douye (PDP-Bayelsa) who kicked against the proposal, argued that “most of us will become victims of disqualification” in the hands of the police.

Speaking earlier, Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje (PDP-Abia) stressed the need for the House to engage Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the proposed inclusion of Nigerians in Diaspora who are qualified to vote in the list of voters that the Commission should include in its national register of voters for presidential elections.

The amendment also include provisions for parties to submit their list of nominated candidates to INEC not later than 120 days to the election date as against the current 60 days provision.

According to her, the Commission had publicly affirmed that N.E.C confess not to have the capacity to handle diaspora voting, especially as the Embassies agree that they do not have the database of Nigerians living abroad.

In his remarks, Ossai Nicholas Ossai (PDP-Delta) who urged the House to step-down the bill, adding that ongoing amendment to the Electoral Act conflict with the ECOWAS treaties and conventions which Nigeria is a signatory.

According to him, the ECOWAS treaties and convention provides that no amendment should be made six months to the election date, adding that the party Congresses which took place so far, were part of the Electoral process for 2019 general elections.

Also speaking, Tahir Monguno (APC-Borno) expressed optimsim that the bill would cure existing lacuna in the Electoral Act as the proposed amendments are aimed to bring the Act to the standard of the current times.

On her part, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha (PDP-Abia), who spoke against some aspects of the Bill, observed that the clause that stipulated that a winner can be disqualified if the electoral process is flawed and that the violence was caused by the winner, gives the too much power to the Courts.

In his ruling, Speaker Yakubu Dogara harped on the need to initiate the reform before the 2019 general election.

Sequel to the overwhelming support enjoyed by the bill through voice vote, the Speaker ruled that the bill would be considered at the Committee .

KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja

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