I am delighted at the invitation to be part of this event and to declare open, this retreat by the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral and Political Parties Matters. Let me warmly welcome all participants and appreciate you for making out time to participate.
2. On our inauguration as the 8th House of Representatives, we committed to carrying out further electoral reforms as a matter of priority, and we very clearly outlined this objective in the Legislative Agenda of the House that was adopted in July 2015.
3. We are all witnesses to the determination of the Nigerian people to build on the gains of our democratic achievements. This manifested in the votes of the 2015 general elections that saw Nigerians vote out an incumbent government and replace it with the main opposition political party – the All Progressives Congress, (APC). While we all acknowledge that the 2015 general election was a milestone in Nigeria’s democratic evolution, there is no doubt that there is still a lot of work to be done to take the country to the point where elections become routine and devoid of the usual challenges of violence and abuse of the process.
4. A review of the 2015 general elections indicates the need for the National Assembly to take legislative steps to address identified challenges and plug the loopholes encountered in the course of the conduct of the elections. I note that some of the challenges may even require Constitutional amendments and, in that regard, we are working through the House Ad hoc Committee on Constitution Review to make the necessary alterations to the Constitution that will fix the legal framework.
5. As the Committee embarks on this retreat today, I urge you all to be open to suggestions and new ideas on how the legal framework for election administration can be further improved. It will be important for instance, for this retreat to discuss some of the pending and unresolved issues on increased use of technology for the conduct of elections in Nigeria, the worrisome and rising disruption of elections through resort to violence by politicians and their supporters; apprehension and prosecution of electoral offenders, improvements in INEC’s electoral processes to enable it further build its capacity and prepare for the next general elections in 2019, among others.
6. Dear participants, we have enough time to determine the appropriate legal framework for elections way ahead of the 2019 general elections, so we must get to work early. I wish to use this opportunity to note for your attention that the full import and impact of the Electoral( Amendment) Act, 2015, passed by the National Assembly and signed Int law by the former President , Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, on 26th March 2015 , appear not to have been made known and available to Nigerians, before, during and even after the elections.
7. There are indeed many landmark provisions of that amendment Act which I charge you all to properly examine and determine its effect on our electoral environment. For instance, not many people are aware that voting by Internally Displaced Persons ( IDPs) seem to have been taken care of by the amendment of S.26 which says that: “ in the event of an emergency affecting an election , the Independent National Electoral Commission shall, as far as possible ensure that persons displaced as a result of the emergency are not disenfranchised”.
8. Furthermore, perhaps the most radical amendment with far reaching consequences is the amendment by substitution of S. 52(2) of the 2010 Electoral Act which says:
“ voting at an election under this Act, shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the Independent National Electoral Commission”.
Does this have the effect of rendering irrelevant all issues concerning procedure still left intact in the Act?
Can the Independent National Electoral Commission Guidelines or Regulations issued as a result of this amendment override any other issue of procedure left intact in the Act?.
Can the Independent National Electoral Commission rely on this clause to validate the Card Reader and other technological innovations it may wish to introduce ?
9. However, it seems that the main problem with this amendment is that the current S.52(2) which is substituted provides, thus: “2. The use of electronic voting machine for the time being is prohibited”. This is infact what has been substituted. It seems that the legislative intent was to substitute the whole of PART 1V – PROCEDURE AT ELECTIONS, which runs from Sections 25 – 77, and replace same with the Independent National Electoral Commission’s, (INEC), Guidelines. This appears to be an obvious legislative slip.
10. In any case , we have brought out all these posers, questions and comments as food for thought, which we expect experts and stakeholders at this retreat to ponder on, examine and make recommendations on clear legislative solutions, going forward.
11. In making your recommendation, however, we may need to examine whether, it is appropriate to delegate this sort of Rule Making powers completely to the Independent National Electoral Commission,INEC. Will it be abused? Or should we return to the former provisions of providing procedure for elections explicitly in the Electoral Act?. Would this hamstrung the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), in conducting elections?
12. It should be further noted that the Electoral (Amendment ) Act, 2015 also made far reaching amendments on the role of the police before and during elections especially the issue of holding of rallies and meetings by political parties( S.94) and the role and operational deployment of the Armed forces during elections ( S. 29). We must applaud some of these provisions for attempting to ensure the democratic character of free and fair elections.
13. The expectation of the people of Nigeria is that this retreat will produce an outcome that will go to strengthen the electoral environment and law, as well as further deepen our democracy. In this regard. I wish to assure all Nigerians of the commitment of the House of Representatives and, indeed,the National Assembly to amend the Electoral Act in line with peoples’ expectations and with a view to strengthening the electoral process.
14. It is gratifying to note that the British Department for International Development (DFID) in conjunction with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) have proved to be a great support to the House of Representatives as we seek to deliver on our legislative responsibilities as outlined in our Legislative Agenda and we are proud to report here that today’s retreat is another manifestation of this unrelenting support. We look forward to even more support from and collaboration with you.
15. On this note, I wish the Committee and, indeed, all participants, fruitful deliberations and do hereby declare this retreat formally open.
16. God bless you all and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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