Reps Move to Make Voting Compulsory for Nigerians Above 18, Details Emerge

• The House of Representatives has taken a bold step toward electoral reform as a bill seeking to amend the Electoral Act 2022 to make voting compulsory for Nigerians above 18 scaled second reading on Thursday
• The bill, sponsored by Speaker of the House Tajudeen Abbas and lawmaker Daniel Ago, seeks to tackle the growing concern of voter apathy by legally mandating participation in elections
• While leading the debate during plenary, Hon. Ago emphasised that the low turnout of voters during elections undermines Nigeria’s democracy and must be addressed

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

FCT, Abuja - A bill to amend the Electoral Act 2022 to make voting compulsory for Nigerians of voting age has passed second reading in the House of Representatives.

The proposed legislation was sponsored by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, and Daniel Ago.

Leading the debate during plenary on Thursday, May 15, Ago said the bill aimed to encourage citizens’ participation in the electoral process, adding that that voter apathy during elections would be addressed if the bill scales legislative scrutiny.

Although the bill passed second reading, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Akwa Ibom state, Mark Esset, said enacting a law to make voting compulsory is not enough to sanitise the electoral system, The Punch reported.

“Let us not put something on nothing. If citizens have lost confidence in the electoral system, there is a lot of work to be done.

“Many Nigerians do not vote during elections because they believe that their votes will not count. If we must make a law to make voting compulsory, we must also make another one to make their votes count,” he said.

Voting made compulsory for Nigerians: SERAP reacts

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that SERAP has condemned a proposed bill in the National Assembly that seeks to make voting mandatory.

The organisation urged lawmakers to withdraw the bill and instead focus on electoral reforms, such as removing immunity for governors involved in electoral malpractice.

SERAP warned that if the bill is passed into law, it would take legal action to challenge its enforcement, emphasizing that democracy should be based on free participation, not coercion.

House of Reps rejects bill on rotational presidency

In another development, Legit.ng reported that the House of Representatives on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, said no to rotational presidency in Nigeria.

The House rejected the bill seeking to rotate the office of the president and vice president among the six geopolitics zones.

The lawmakers argued that the bill infringed on the right of all Nigerians to contest for any office of their choice.

National Assembly told to divide Nigeria into 12 regions

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Barrister Oladotun Hassan has called on the National Assembly to divide Nigeria into 12 regions in the ongoing constitutional amendment.

The legal icon made the call in an exclusive with Legit.ng, adding that some states should also be renamed.

Hassan noted that Nigeria needed more than 12 regions considering the fact that there were over 400 ethnic groups in the country.

Source: Legit.ng