Electoral Act: Chaos in Senate Over Electronic Transmission of Election Result
- Federal lawmakers in the Senate have taken different positions about the proposed amendment of section 52 (3) of the electoral act
- The section which deals with the electronic transmission of results has been an issue of contention among the ruling party and members of the opposition
- Some Nigerians have argued that allowing electronic transmission of results would help the electoral system
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FCT, Abuja - The disagreements over the amendment of section 52(3) of the electoral act amendment bill, which deals with electronic transmission of results, plunged the Senate into a rowdy session on Thursday, July 15.
Channels TV reported that the uproar began after a resolution was made to amend section 52 (3) by removing the powers of INEC to determine the use of electronic transmission of results.
Source: Facebook
The controversial amendment provided that INEC may consider electronic transmission so far the national network coverage is adjudged to be adequate and secure by Nigeria Communication Commission and approved by the National Assembly.
The Nation newspaper reported that the new amendment, which was sought by Senator Sabi Abdullahi from Niger state and seconded by Senator Ali Ndume.
The sharp disagreement
The controversial amendment caused a sharp disagreement in the Senate after the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan put the amends sought by Abdullahi to voice vote and he ruled in favour of the Niger Senator.
Lawan’s action further fueled the anger of many senators, mostly from the southern part of the country and this led to a stalemate that lasted over 20 minutes.
The development forced the Senate President to call for a closed session.
Reps reject motion to declare Bauchi oil-producing state
In another news, the House of Representatives on Thursday, July 15, shut down a motion asking the Nigerian government to declare Bauchi state an oil-producing state in the country.
Premium Times reports that the motion was sponsored by Yakubu Abdullahi from Bauchi state who also asked the federal government to extend the 13 percent derivation to it.
Abdullahi argued that any community from whose location oil is discovered and or produced is entitled to several extra revenues.
Source: Legit.ng
