Electoral Act: House Passes Bill, empowers INEC on Electronic, manual Transmission
...adopts report on PIB

We don't want any Nigerian disenfranchised -Gbajabiamila

16/07/2021

The House of Representatives on Friday passed the Electoral Act (Repeal/Re-enactment) Bill, 2021, after the full consideration of the report on the bill by members in the Committee of the Whole.

The Committee of the Whole was presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Rep. Ahmed Idris Wase, in line with the rules of the House.

The bill was subsequently read for the third time before the House adjourned for its annual recess till September 14, 2021.

The majority of the 158 clauses of the bill were passed intact, including Clause 52 (2), which initially generated tension among members.

The clause, which provides that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) shall determine the mode of voting/transmission of election results, was left intact after attempts made by some members between Thursday and Friday to amend it failed.

The retained Clause 52 (2) reads, "Voting at election and transmission of results in this Bill shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the Commission."

This clause, therefore, leaves INEC with the option to use either electronic or manual transmission of results.

Following the disagreement the clause generated among members earlier on Thursday, the Speaker, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, invited the Nigerian Communications Commission to address the House on whether the country had attained the capacity to seamlessly transmit election results from across the 36 states and the FCT, using available telecommunications services.

On Friday, officials of the agency appeared in plenary to answer questions from members, specifically saying on the issue of coverage that only about 50% of the country was reached by network services.

The officials informed the House that a 2018 study done by the NCC showed that there were 119,000 polling units in the country, out of which only 50% had a combined 2G/3G network coverage.

They further said the data implied that about 50% of the units had no network coverage, an indication that electronic transmission of results would be a herculean task.

The House also adopted the Conference Report on the Petroleum Industry Bill, approving 3% as the financial provision for the Host Communities Fund to align with the position of the Senate on the same matter.

I conclude today that this country doesn't need help

house pass bill and in no rich my house.

i de 9jria at all?