Faced with growing criticisms over attempts to surreptitiously remove electronic transmission of results in the draft of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2021, the Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday returned the controversial clause to the bill.
Senator Gaya committee took the decision at an emergency meeting in Abuja.
The National Assembly has been under fire since Sunday when the news broke that the new draft bill, which provides for a total ban of electronic transmission of votes is to be introduced at the Senate today.
The provision forms part of the 121-page document to be laid before the upper legislative chamber at plenary by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Senator Kabir Gaya.
But the draft bill was said to be at variance with what was earlier agreed to by the committees of the two chambers of the National Assembly.
Critics on Monday had called attempts by the federal legislators to expunge the electronic transmission of results from the draft bill as a plot to rig the 2023 general election ahead of time.
The critics had argued that since President Muhammadu Buhari would not be in contention, the lawmakers were working to the answer for their own selfish purpose, calling on Nigerians to resist them.
About 22 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) had raised the alarm over the alleged plan by the National Assembly to pass the bill without the inclusion of the electronic collation of results in the bill.
The CSOs, in a statement on Monday, said the manipulation of Section 50(2) would undermine INEC’s efforts to improve the election results management regime.
However, sources told THISDAY yesterday that faced with the growing criticisms, the committee called the meeting to take a holistic look at the draft of the bill.
It was gathered that some of the committee members, who were apparently embarrassed by the report that the bill banned the electronic transmission of election results, expressed concerns and emphasised the need for the committee to revisit the report.
Some committee members were said to have called the leadership of the Senate, saying they were not part of the decision by the committee to insert the clause banning the electronic transfer of votes.
Based on this, it was impressed upon Gaya, the need for the committee to meet again yesterday to take another look at all the clauses contained in the draft bill ahead of its being laid at today’s plenary.
THISDAY gathered that a meeting of the committee was called at one of the Senate committee rooms and was attended by 12 committee members with Gaya presiding.
It was learnt that members of the committee insisted that all the clauses in the draft bill should be taken one after the other to avoid any misrepresentation.
When the committee got to page 25 of the document and subtitled procedure at an election under Section 50(2) of the bill was reworked to read: “Voting at an election under this bill shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the commission (INEC), which may include electronic voting provided that the commission may transmit results of elections by electronic means where and when practicable.”
The meeting lasted for over four hours with the committee members insisting that the final draft be produced for them to assent before ending the meeting about 5 pm.
The previous Section 50(2) of the bill had read: “Voting at an election under this bill shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the Commission (INEC), which may include electronic voting provided that the commission shall not transmit results of the election by electronic means.”
The investigation revealed that this clause was sneaked into the draft bill without the knowledge of the committee members.
A member of the Senate committee on INEC told THISDAY that at no time was that provision discussed at the committee level.
The senator said he now understood the delay in presenting the bill after the committee had long concluded its work.
He added: “This is not funny at all. I now know why the presentation of the report had been delayed this long after we finished our work at the committee level. They have been playing hide-and-seek on the matter.
“For all I know and other committee members can bear me witness, the issue of ban on electronic transfer of votes was not part of the report we wrote. So, that means the committee chairman is culpable and owes the committee members an explanation over the strange insertion.”
However, reacting to the allegation of a plot by the National Assembly to rig the 2023 general election ahead of time, the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, said presiding officers were not tampering with the workings of committees of both chambers on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021.
He spoke in Abuja during the inauguration of the National Commissioners of the Public Complaints Commission (PCC).
He said: “Let me seize this opportunity to react to insinuations being made against the leadership of the National Assembly as regards the 2010 Electoral Act ( Amendment) Bill 2021, which will soon be considered and passed at both chambers.
“Leadership or presiding officers of the National Assembly are not the ones to determine what and what provisions should be in the report to be presented, making the series of phone calls being made to us unnecessary.”
Thisday