The National Assembly says the bill for an Act to repeal Electoral Act No. 6, 2010 will be ready before the end of February for submission to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.
Sen. Kabiru Gaya, Chairman Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Committee (INEC), disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja when he featured on Forum, a flagship interview programme of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Gaya said that the National Assembly joint committee on INEC and Electoral Matters was working tirelessly to ensure passage of the bill.
“We are working on the Electoral Act, which is virtually completed.
“What we are supposed to do at this level is to now bring it to the floor of the Senate for consideration and the floor of the House also for consideration.
“We are doing a joint hearing between the Senate and the House so that we can fasttrack it and also reduce the issue of having so many differences in the bill.
“If we are working together with the House, it means the bill will be one, the House bill and the Senate bill will be one; there will be no need to go for concurrence.
“I believe Nigerians will be happy with the Electoral Act 2021 which hopefully, before the end of this month, it will leave the chamber to Mr President for his assent.
“As we promised that within the first quarter of this year the bill be signed; we hope and pray that the bill will be signed and it will enhance the democratic progress in this country.”
Gaya said that the committee was doing its best to ensure that the law would guarantee free, fair and credible elections in the country.
“Whatever we need to do to improve the elections, the quality of our elections, we will continue to do.
“I thank the leader of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan and the leadership and also the speaker of the House and his leadership for encouraging us to make sure that we fasttrack work on this issue of Electoral Act.
“People need to have free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria and therefore we have to amend the Electoral Act, the law that can be able to let us achieve success in election; free, fair and credible,” Gaya said.
The lawmaker said about 87 memoranda were submitted to the committee but, after consideration, 27 were included in the bill.
