Compulsory Voting Bill For Nigerians Passes Second Reading as PDP Member Representing Akwa Ibom Lectures House on Its Ignorance
By: Israel Adeleke
OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports that as a bill to amend the Electoral Act 2022 to make voting compulsory for Nigerians of voting age passed second reading in the House of Representatives, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party from Akwa Ibom State, Mark Esset, has opened the eyes of house to what they failed to address instead of the later move.
OTN News further reports that the bill which was sponsored by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, and Daniel Ago and was debated on during plenary on Thursday, had Esset, clarified that enacting a law to make voting compulsory is not enough to sanitise the electoral system.
OTN News observes that Ago while leading the proposed bill, said that the bill aimed to encourage citizens’ participation in the electoral process, noting that voter apathy during elections would be addressed if the bill scales legislative scrutiny.
OTN News further observes that although the bill passed second reading, but, Esset, warned that the house is not addressing what is meant to be addressed
According to him, “Let us not put something on nothing. If citizens have lost confidence in the electoral system, there is a lot of work to be done.
“Many Nigerians do not vote during elections because they believe that their votes will not count. If we must make a law to make voting compulsory, we must also make another one to make their votes count,” he lectured.
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