Electoral Act: Senate constitutes review panel

The Senate has constituted a seven-member ad hoc committee to harmonise and distil senators’ inputs on the proposed amendment of the Electoral Act, as lawmakers intensify efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s electoral framework ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The decision followed a two-hour closed-door executive session held on Thursday, during which senators further scrutinised the Electoral Act (Repeal and Enactment) Bill currently before the National Assembly.

Announcing the outcome of the session, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the committee was set up to synthesise lawmakers’ views and resolve outstanding concerns on the proposed amendments.

He said the panel was mandated to “contribute, galvanise and distil the opinions of senators on the bill.”

The committee will be chaired by Niyi Adegbonmire, chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters. Other members are Adamu Aliero, Aminu Tambuwal, Adams Oshiomhole, Danjuma Goje, Tony Nwoye and Titus Zam.

Akpabio said the committee has a maximum of three days to complete its assignment and submit its report to the Senate by Tuesday.

The Senate had on Wednesday stepped down consideration of the report on the Electoral Act amendment bill and resolved to hold an executive session to allow for more detailed examination of the proposed legislation.

The decision followed deliberations on the report of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, which was presented in the absence of its chairman, Simon Lalong.

Lawmakers agreed to suspend debate to give senators additional time to study the bill, citing its far-reaching implications for Nigeria’s electoral process.

Although the House of Representatives has already passed the bill, Akpabio stressed that the Senate must exercise due diligence before concurrence.

“This is a very important bill, especially as we approach another election cycle. We must take our time to ensure justice is done to all, so that we do not end up at the tribunal,” he said.

Earlier, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele outlined key provisions of the bill, saying the amendments introduce stiffer sanctions for offences such as vote-buying, including fines of up to N5 million, a two-year jail term and a 10-year ban from contesting elections.

Other provisions include tougher penalties for result falsification, mandatory electronic transmission of results, electronically generated voter identification, recognition of prisoners’ voting rights and early release of election funds.

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