Tuesday 24th November marks a watershed in the annals of the current 9th Assembly as the House of Representatives today passed two very important amendment Acts, the Petrleoum Industry Bill PIB and the Electoral Act through their 2nd readings.
Speaker of the House Hon Femi Gbajabiamila while welcoming back members from a six-week break from plenary session to attend to budget defence of government MDAs had alluded to the development, adding that the two Pieces of legislations had spent enough time in the processing rungs and needed to see the light of the day for the country to move forward.
In committing both the PIB and Electoral Amendment Act to their next stage of Public Hearings, the Speaker tasked representatives of the different strata of the society, as stockholders, to participate fully at this stage of evolving new laws touching on the political and economic well-being of the nation.
Gbajabiamila urged committee chairman and their deputies to be innovative in involving members of the public in lawmaking process as it makes such laws more broad-based and readily acceptable.
Briefing newsmen after plenary, chairman House Committee on Electoral Matters, Hajia Aisha Dukku described the committing of the two amendment bills to Public Hearing as the right step towards realizing the 9th House of Representatives Legislative Agenda which places premium on the two bills among others.
She noted that amendment to the Electoral Act became pertinent due to flaws observed in the electoral system, citing the Kogi State governorship election in 2015 where a leading candidate died after the commencement of polls but before the declaration of results.
According to Rep Dukku, the amendment provides for legal framework, timeline and ceilings for issues to be settled ahead of the 2023 elections such as the use of technological devices like electronic voting system.
It also covers criteria for substitution of candidates, disclosure of sources of funds contributed to political parties and ceilings on funds to be expended by different categories of candies in realizing their ambition.
Hajia Dukku said while there is a separate bill for electoral offences, issues of Diaspora voting and independent candidscies too will come up with the bill. ##ENDS.
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