Reps To Reintroduce Electoral Bill Today

The House of Representatives will reintroduce and resume legislative effort of correcting noted observations in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill on Wednesday.

Its Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila,who disclosed this   while addressing members and welcoming them back from the Christmas and New Year break,said the bill upon reintroduction would be subjected to legislative inputs at committee levels with relevant adjustment made.

 President Muhammadu Buhari had last  December  refused assent to the amendment Bill, due to  logistic and financial challlenges posed by clause 85 which seeks to mandate political parties to adopt direct primaries in selecting their flag bearers in an election.

He  reiterated  the commitment of the House in delivering a globally acceptable electoral law to Nigerians.

He   lamented  inadequacies of political parties with regards to proper and up-to-date membership drive and registration was being used as an excuse to paint  the concept of direct primary in bad light.

He added:” It is disappointing that the failure of political parties to adequately document their membership is being used to not give the Nigerian people the power to fully participate in our nation’s politics. If nothing else, including a direct primary mandate in the law, would have forced political parties to properly register their members within the shortest possible time.  This would have been the singular most significant reform of our political party system in a generation.”

Gbajabiamila expressed that the proposal for direct primary elections is valuable for building accountability in  the nation’s  political system.

On the issues relating to inelegant drafting and other technical errors in the Bill, the Speaker said “This is a matter of concern as it appears the version sent to the President differs from what is circulating in the public domain.  However, in December of last year, I appointed a technical team to look into the issue. I expect to have their report within the next day or two so that we can proceed to the next stage.  We have less than thirteen months to the next general election, so time is of the essence. A credible electoral law is what the people want.  It is what the people deserve, and we must give to them. The Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill includes many other provisions that will serve our democracy well, and we cannot throw away the baby with the bathwater.”

He spoke on  budget and its benefits to the people, saying that the parliament has exercised its constitutional powers to prioritise community and constituency development by allocating funds to relevant projects in education, as well as information and communication technologies (ICT).

“We have used the appropriations process and the power of parliament over the public purse to pursue community and constituency development across the country.  We have invested in primary, secondary and tertiary education infrastructure.  We have provided ICT training centres to facilitate learning and enhance educational outcomes.  There is, at the moment, virtually no constituency in the country that hasn’t benefitted from significant investment to improve primary healthcare, rehabilitate classrooms and schools and provide community roads.

Gbajabiamila also stressed the need for the people to be aware and abreast of legislative achievements recorded by the 9th House, saying that efforts must be made within the year to adequately document and publicize same.

“Too often, the legislator’s work and the benefits that derive therefrom are not uniquely recognised and acknowledged.  Active measures are required to change that, and it is our responsibility to make sure that the people we serve have sufficient information to judge us on the facts.  Therefore, it must be a priority for us this year to document our efforts and our success and communicate the same to our constituents across the nation so that we can be judged individually and collectively by our evident accomplishments”, he said.

On the ongoing constitution review efforts in the House, the Speaker said actions are at their terminal stages to clean up the document and move to the next stage, a process he said must be concluded within the year, just as he urged members to double their efforts in actualizing the legislative agenda.