Nigerian Senate Rejects Controversial Bill Allowing Parties to Replace Elected Members
In a surprising turn of events, the Nigerian Senate has rejected a proposed bill that sought to grant political parties the authority to nominate and replace elected members in the National and State Assemblies.
The bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Electoral Act, 2022,” was presented by Senator Karimi Sunday of the APC representing Kogi West.
The contentious bill, introduced in the Senate on October 26, 2023, faced strong opposition during its consideration.
Despite the sponsor, Senator Karimi, explaining that the objective was to enable political parties to nominate replacements for elected candidates in the event of resignation, death, or vacancy of seats, a majority of Senators voted against it.
The proposed amendment aimed to allow political parties that secured victory in an election to nominate and replace candidates in the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly if a vacancy arises due to the death or resignation of the serving member during their term.
Senator Karimi argued that the bill could prevent the unnecessary expenditure of public resources on conducting fresh elections when a valid alternative could be pursued for infrastructural development.
However, skepticism arose among several Senators, questioning the bill’s legitimacy and expressing concerns over the lack of distribution of the lead debater’s paper.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, offered Senator Karimi the option to either withdraw the bill or make amendments, but both suggestions were declined. Consequently, the bill was stepped down after a voice vote.
Some lawmakers voiced their apprehensions, characterizing the bill as a potential threat to the legislative independence.
Critics argued that if the bill were to become law, the Executive branch might exploit it to replace undesirable lawmakers through party nominations.
Source: Vanguard News
