17th August, 2017
The Senate has assured that it would give Nigerians the best in the ongoing amendment of the Electoral Act.
Chairman of its Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Sen. Suleiman Nazif, gave the assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.
Nazif said that the amendment was important as the country prepared for 2019 general elections, assured that the process would capture all important areas that needed to be amended.
“The amendment is ongoing and the National Assembly is on top of the matter.
“What has been done has been done. We will continue to monitor the process. Nigeria should expect the best outcome,’’ he said.
He said that the national assembly would continue to give necessary support, monitor and carry out oversight function on INEC to ensure that it was truly independent in discharging its duties.
READ: Youths urged to demand accountability from leaders
On ongoing nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), Nazif said that the committee would work closely with INEC to ensure that the exercise was hitch-free and successful.
He said that the committee would monitor the exercise through oversight to get first-hand information on what was happening on the field.
“I want to assure you that the committee is doing everything possible to ensure hitch-free voter registration exercise. It is an ongoing exercise and we are monitoring it closely.
“We have been holding series of meetings with the commission and we will continue to urge them to do what is right.’’
The lawmaker advised Nigerians to go out and register and obtain the Permanent Voter Card (PVC), saying that it was the first step in participating in the electoral process.
He also urged registered voters yet to collect their PVCs to ensure that they collected them in time.
“Even, in the last elections, the PVCs were out but Nigerians refused to collect them. We could find millions that were not collected.
“This is opportunity for Nigerians to go and collect to enable them vote for the candidates of their choice.
“We, as Senate Committee on INEC, will continue to oversight on INEC and monitor them very closely to ensure that they truly remain independent,’’ he said.