As the 2019 general elections draws closer by days, the House of Representatives witnessed a rowdy session over the propriety or otherwise of the inclusion of the Card Reader in the amendment to the Electoral Act 2010 before the House.
This happened during the consideration of the report of the House Committee on Electoral and Political Party Matters chaired by Hon.Aisha Dukku at the Committee of the Whole which traditionally is chaired by the Deputy Speaker.
But the House became rowdy when when the inclusion of the Card Reader and any other technological devices in the revised and amended Act was read at the clause by clause consideration of the report of the Committee which came up.
Dukku who informed the lawmakers that there are eleven areas or observations as raised by the President on the report had revealed that the Committee met severally to review the issues raised by the Presidency which she noted had declined assent to the amended Act three times.
According to her, section 9 of the amended Act is amended by substituting the word Card Reader.
Moreover section 18 of the Act provides that the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC shall issue a Permanent Voters Card PVC to a person eligible to vote up to 60 days before the election.
It further provides that a political party which presents a candidate who does not meet the qualification requirement specified in the Act Commits an offence and is liable to a fine of N10 million.
But some lawmakers picked homes with the inclusion of the card reader and any other electronic devises in the amended Act.
Femi Gbajabiamila the House Leader had urged the House to be circumspect whenever it is considering matters as sensitive as election noting that the card reader is a device that can be changed by the electoral umpire at any time.
He cited the case of Kaduna State in which local council elections were conducted without the card reader instead a different electronic device was deployed to check electoral malpractices.
Other lawmakers as Hon.Aminu Shagari (Sokoto, APC) and Hon. Simon Arabo (Kaduna, APC) also noted that the inclusion of the word ‘any other electronic devices’ in the amended Act would not be in the nations best interest towards a free and fair election.
Consequently the Deputy Speaker Hon. Yusuff Lasun thereafter put the matter to vote and the ‘Ays’ voted overwhelmingly for it.
Lasun later shelved the report being considered and adjourned the House to Thursday after clause by clause approval of 27 clauses of amended Act.
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