Senate to reconsider diaspora voting bill

The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, said on Monday the Red Chamber would reconsider the Diaspora Voting Bill this week.

He stated this during a dialogue organised by Engage Diaspora Foundation in collaboration with the Directorate of Diaspora and International Affairs in Abuja.

The 9th Senate rejected the bill on diaspora voting in March last year.

The bill sought to amend the 1999 Constitution to allow Nigerians living outside the country to participate in the electoral process.

At the forum, Opeyemi stressed that the Senate would put in more effort to pass the bill this time around.

He said: “Nigerian citizens in the diaspora have shown tremendous interest in participating in the electoral process; they make considerable contributions to the economy through huge financial remittances to the country.

“Diaspora voting is consistent with global best practices.

READ ALSO: Nigerians in diaspora sue Buhari, INEC, demand voting rights in 2023

“We will do our best to make sure that this time around, we achieve your desire in this regard.

“When you talk about diaspora voting, it is a right; if anybody is granting you that right, it is not as if they are grating you any favour. It is your right.

“The essence of this fight is just to make sure that the right is recognised in our constitution because the constitution is the basis upon which every other thing rests.

“The constitution is the operational manual for both the government and the governed in our country. It is a right that must be recognised by our law as enshrined in the constitution.

“Whatever I’m doing with you is not new. I’m trying to build on the effort, genuine effort, people had built in the past and which they are still making.

The bill is already on the floor of the Senate. Exactly two Tuesdays ago, we had a first reading of the diaspora voting bill.

“It passed the first reading and it was scheduled for the second.

“Definitely, I can assure you as the leader of the Senate, we will be considering the second reading of the bill during this week.”

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