Lawan names anti-e- transmission of results senators into committee to sit on electoral Act amendment

Senate President, Ahmed Lawan on Wednesday named a seven-member committed to meet with the House of Representatives team to look into contentious aspects of the Electoral Act (amendment) Bill.

A look at the seven-member committee showed that most of them had voted against electronic transmission of results when it was put up for vote at the Senate earlier.

Abdullahi Yahaya was named head of the seven-member conference committee, while other members include Kabiru Gaya (North-West), Ajibola Basiru (South-West), Danjuma Goje (North-East), Uche Ekwunife (South-East), Sani Musa (North-Central), and Mathew Urhoghide (South-South).

Only Urhoghide had voted in support of electronic transmission of results when there was a division on the issue, while Ekwunife was absent on that day.

All five senators are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The clamour by Nigerians for future election results to be transmitted electronically forced Lawan to set up a committee headed by Gaya, the Chairman of Senate Committee on INEC.

During a presentation of the committee’s report for debate on July 15, the Senate was thrown into chaos as the lawmakers considered the report on the “Electoral Bill, 2021, seeking to repeal the Electoral Act No.6, 2010 and enact the Electoral Act 2021, to regulate the conduct of Federal, State and Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory elections.”

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At the end of the rowdy session, 52 senators from the APC voted against the electronic transmission of election results while 28 senators from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) voted in favour of the proposal.

The APC senators insisted that INEC must get approval from the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) and the National Assembly before they can transmit results of elections electronically.

 The crisis started after Gaya read his committee’s report on the bill.

 This came after the Senate Deputy Chief Whip, Sabi Abdullahi, moved the motion for the amendment of clause 52(3) recommended by the committee.

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