Nigerian senators on Thursday disagreed over some provisions of the proposed amendment to the Electoral Act, prompting the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, to constitute an ad hoc committee to resolve the contentious clauses.
The ad hoc panel is chaired by Ondo Central Senator, Adeniyi Adegbonmire. Its members are Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), Danjuma Goje (Gombe), Tony Nwoye (Anambra) and Titus Zam (Benue).
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The Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, will serve as secretary.
The committee was constituted following divisions among lawmakers during deliberations on the amendment bill prepared by the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters.
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Mr Akpabio directed it to harmonise the differing positions and present its report on Tuesday for final consideration by the Senate.
“The senate has set up a small committee to further make contributions, galvanise, distil all the opinions of distinguished senators and present them to us for final deliberation on Tuesday,” he said.
The specific clauses under dispute were not clear at the time of filing this report because the deliberations were held behind closed doors and lasted over three hours. Mr Akpabio did not also disclose the specific clauses.
However, key proposed amendments include mandating electronic transmission of election results, making the use of the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) non-compulsory for voting, increasing the penalty for vote-buying to ₦5 million, and imposing either one-year imprisonment or a ₦1 million fine on presiding or collation officers who distribute unstamped or unsigned ballot papers and result sheets.
Mr Akpabio said the committee would reconcile all concerns raised during the closed-door session on the electoral amendment bill.
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This is the second postponement of the bill’s consideration and passage.
It was initially scheduled for consideration on Wednesday but was deferred to Thursday due to the absence of the chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, Simon Lalong, from plenary and to allow senators more time to study the bill on a clause-by-clause basis.
The House of Representatives had passed its version of the amendment bill in December and transmitted it to the Senate for concurrence.
Last week, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar criticised the delay in passing the amendment bill, warning that it could undermine preparations for the 2027 general elections.
