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A coalition of 12 civil society organisations on Thursday said its review of the Electoral Amendment Bill 2022 had led to the discovery of cross-referencing errors in five sections and grammatical errors in two sections.
Also discovered were duplicate provisions in three sections and conflicting provisions in one section of the Bill.
They, therefore, called on the National Assembly to carry out a comprehensive review of the Bill to ensure all that editorial, drafting and cross-referencing gaps were addressed since the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had declined his assent to it.
The CSOs comprised Yiaga Africa, International Press Centre, Centre for Citizens with Disability, The Albino Foundation CLEEN Foundation and Institute for Media and Society.
Others were Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism, Partners for Electoral Reform, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre and Nigerian Network of Non-Governmental Organizations.
The CSOs said these during a press conference in Abuja addressed by the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo; Director of Programmes, Cynthia Mbamalu and Convener of Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room, Ene Obi.
According to Itodo who spoke on their behalf, civil society groups had already undertaken an in-depth and comprehensive review of the Bill and identified drafting errors, repetition and cross-referencing gaps in eleven sections of the bill.
He said, “Following the President’s decision to decline assent to the Electoral Bill 2021, civil society groups undertook an in-depth and comprehensive review of the Bill to ensure all editorial, drafting and cross-referencing gaps are addressed.
“The review identified drafting errors, repetition and cross-referencing gaps in eleven sections of the Bill. Cross-referencing errors were identified in five sections of the Bill, grammatical errors in two sections, duplicate provisions in three sections and conflicting provisions in one section of the Bill.
“Without doubt, these errors will occasion controversies and legal complications in the implementation of the bill when enacted.”
He recalled that in August 2018, President Buhari premised his decision of declining assent to the 2018 Electoral (Amendment) Bill on certain drafting errors and cross-referencing gaps in the Bill.
Itodo said, “Therefore, it is imperative for the National Assembly to ensure due diligence before transmitting the Electoral Bill 2021 back to the President for assent to prevent the current bill from suffering the same fate.
“As part of civil society’s contributions to the ongoing reform process, a detailed memorandum was submitted to the leadership of the National Assembly on December 29, 2021.
“The memorandum highlights the affected sections and specific recommendations for addressing the errors.
“As the nation prepares for the off-cycle elections in the FCT, Ekiti and Osun and the 2023 general elections, a new legal framework is required to safeguard the integrity of these elections.
“The Electoral Bill 2021 is replete with provisions that address electoral manipulation and the intractable and protracted problem of poor election logistics.
“Furthermore, the bill strengthens INEC’s financial independence and it also empowers the commission to reject falsified election results.
“The newly introduced timelines for key electoral activities in the Bill will facilitate early electoral preparations and promote issue-based political engagement.
“Therefore, it is imperative for the National Assembly and the President to ensure the electoral reform process is concluded expeditiously. Any further delay in concluding the process of enacting the Electoral Bill 2021 will directly impact preparations for the 2023 General Election.
“As noted earlier in our previous statement, a climate of legal uncertainties will befall upcoming elections and Nigeria will lose the opportunity to test the efficacy of new innovations introduced in the electoral Bill, especially during the off-cycle elections in Ekiti and Osun, before deployment for the 2023 General Elections.”
Obi called on the National Assembly to address the identified drafting errors in the eleven sections of the bill before re-transmitting the Electoral Bill 2021 for Presidential Assent.
She reiterated earlier calls on the National Assembly by the CSOs to expeditiously conclude the process and re-transmit the Electoral Bill 2021 to the President for assent within 30 days from 21st December 2021.
The activist told the President to assent to the Bill within a week upon receipt from the National Assembly, maintaining that Civil society groups, media, and development partners must sustain the effort to safeguard the Electoral Bill from policy capture, manipulation and subversion of the people’s will.
