BEVERLY HILLS, March 04, (THEWILL) – The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has advocated stiff penalties for electoral offences such as rigging and ballot snatching.
Lawan made this known in his concluding remarks after the Senate considered a bill that seeks to establish the Electoral Offences Commission.
According to the Senate President, the move to establish the Commission was in line with the legislative agenda of the Ninth National Assembly in sanitising Nigeria’s electoral process.
He said, “It is in pursuit of our legislative agenda at ensuring that we sanitise the electoral environment in the right direction.
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“So, this bill is one of many that requires we amend the Electoral Act. Even Constitutional amendments and alterations will be made to that effect to ensure that the electoral processes and procedures are very well protected, that we stop people from abusing the process because they are in power, or because they have money.
“I agree that the penalties must be punitive enough to make people not to indulge in electoral offenses,” Lawan added.
Earlier, sponsor of the Electoral Offences Commission Bill, Senator Abubakar Shaib Kyari (APC–Borno North), in his lead debate, expressed concern that electoral offences give birth to political apathy that forces the electorates to shun political processes.
Kyari warned, “Political violence precipitates vicious cycles of political instability and national insecurity.
“Election corruption leads to avoidable waste of public resources and threaten National development in social-political and economic contexts.”
Lending his voice to the debate, Senator Rochas Okorocha (APC – Imo West) advocated stiffer penalties and sanctions to serve as checks against electoral offenses such as rigging by officials of the electoral body.
Another lawmaker, Smart Adeyemi (APC– Kogi West) called for the establishment of a special court for electoral offences, saying, “I think we must look at the possibility of having a special court for electoral offences.”
The Electoral Offences Commission Bill, which scaled second reading debate on the floor, was referred by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to the Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for further legislative work.
The Committee which is Chaired by Senator Kabiru Gaya (APC – Kano South) is expected to submit its report on the bill in four weeks.
