House of Representatives reconsiders Electoral Amendment Bill

The House of Representatives has reconsidered and adopted a report on the Electoral Amendment Bill of 2018, which took into consideration all the observations made by President Muhammadu Buhari before declining assent prior to the 2019 general elections.

The report was presented by the Chairman, Rules and Business, Edward Pwajok (PDP, Plateau), at the Committee of the Whole yesterday in Abuja.

Pwajok said the President had communicated the withholding of assent to the bill in a letter to the House.

He said that the President pointed out some clauses in the bill that require reconsideration and clarity.

In the letter, Buhari said that Section 11 of the bill amending section 36 of the Principal Act should indicate the sub-section in which the term “provisio” was to be introduced.

He also observed that Section 5 of the bill seeking to amend Section 18 of the principal bill, should indicate the sub-section to which the substitution of the figure “30” for the figure “60”.

Buhari also said that the term “Ward Collection Officer” should be revised to reflect a more descriptive definition.

The bill, as adopted by the House, states that no person shall issue a replacement of Permanent Voter Card (PVC) 30 days to the polling day.

The bill states that if a leading candidate dies before declaration of results, INEC shall suspend the poll for not more than 21 days and within seven days, the affected political party, if still interested, shall conduct a primary to replace the dead.

The bill states that anybody who contravenes Section 3 of the bill when it is passed into law shall be liable upon conviction to five years imprisonment or a fine of N5 million or both.

Also, the House considered and adopted a report on a bill for an Act to amend the Federal Character Act, which seeks to give married women the option of choosing the indigeneship of their fathers or husbands.

The Speaker of the House, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, said the House committee considered the Electoral Amendment Bill and had approved clauses 1 to 4.