Sen. Kabiru Gaya, Chairman, Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured that Nigerians in the Diaspora can vote from countries of residence during elections once the Constitution is amended.
Gaya who represents Kano South in the 9th Senate and a former governor of Kano State gave the assurance at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) forum while speaking on Diaspora voting.
The lawmaker said there had been a lot of memorandum on Diaspora voting, adding that Nigerians in the Diaspora should be able to vote where ever they reside.
“The issue has been discussed; we certainly don’t have problems with the people in Diaspora voting for the president or governor they want or whichever seat.
“I know it is also constitutional, but we may have to amend the Constitution to ensure that,’’ he said.
He added that some persons had sponsored a bill for the Constitution to be amended to accommodate Diaspora voting.
“We are waiting; Nigerians should wait on the National Assembly to deliberate on that.
“And when the issue of amendment of the Constitution comes up, that issue I know will be inserted in the amendment, but it has to be approved.
“And you know that approving constitutional amendment is not an easy thing, the two houses have to agree, the Senate and the House of Assembly have to agree,’’ he said.
Gaya, however, added that state assemblies and governors would have to be involved for the process to go through.
On Governors and Senators dumping their original political parties after winning elections, he said the issue of defection was clear in the electoral act and in the Constitution.
He added that:” the only time an elected official can defect from his political party is during crisis, especially if he doesn’t feel comfortable with such development’’.
He explained that when there is no crisis in a political party and an elected official defects to another party, he is expected to vacate his seat.
This, Gaya said, was because he was not the person that was voted in the first place, but the party.
“Every one whether in the Senate or the National Assembly is elected on the party’s platform, so you have to vacate your seat if you decamp when there is no crisis in your party.
“This is the situation, and the law is clear about it, the Speaker or President of the Senate should declare the seats of every such person vacant.
“They should go for a fresh election in their new party, if they win, fine, if they don’t, it is their problem,’’ he said.
Mr Ade Omole, Chairman of Nigeria Diaspora Voting Council (NDVC) had earlier said that diaspora voting was already being practiced in other democratic countries, adding that Nigeria as the most populous black nation, should not be exempted.
“It is instructive to state that Nigerians in the Diaspora make the fifth largest remittances worldwide after India, China, the Philippines and Mexico.
“Interestingly, there are 115 countries world over that allow voting by their Diaspora citizens, out of which 28 of such countries are found in Africa, “he said.
Omole said it was important for Nigeria, as the future of Africa, to entrench diaspora voting in her electoral process.
He said that the council would be working with INEC and the National Assembly and other relevant bodies to articulate the modalities for Diaspora Voting .
