Responding to the outcry of Nigerians on the jumbo take-home pay of political office holders in the country, the Joint Committee on Electoral Matters on Monday proposed a cut in the salaries of legislators and members of the executive by 40 and 30 per cent, respectively. It also proposed that continuous voter registration be linked
Responding to the outcry of Nigerians on the jumbo take-home pay of political office holders in the country, the Joint Committee on Electoral Matters on Monday proposed a cut in the salaries of legislators and members of the executive by 40 and 30 per cent, respectively. It also proposed that continuous voter registration be linked to the National Identity Number (NIN) for added security and to save costs during the voter’s registration.
These recommendations among others were made along with major stakeholders on Monday during an interactive session chaired by the Chairman of, the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, on the National Assembly Review and amendment of the Electoral Act 2022.
Specifically, the committee recommended that the salaries of legislators should be reduced by 30 per cent while that of the executives be reduced by 40 per cent to cut costs. During the session, political parties also proposed that all elections – presidential, National Assembly, governorship, and State Houses of Assembly – be conducted on a single day, stressing that the current staggered system of elections is not cost-effective.
The Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, in its 35 proposals to the Committee insisted that the appointment of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman should no longer be the responsibility of the executive, rather, it should be advertised to interested parties.
The report of the Committee is expected to be presented to the Committee of the whole when the National Assembly on 17 September 2024. But the joint committee promised to interact with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Nigerians across the board, for robust feedback to minimise disruptions and ensure hitch-free elections in the future.
On 2 May 2017, Senator Ken Nnamani led a 25-man Constitution and Electoral Reform Committee, set up to review the laws governing the electoral process and make recommendations for reforms, submitted its report to the then Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
The AGF assured that the Executive would expedite action on the recommendations and urged stakeholders to support the Federal Government by engaging the National Assembly on the speedy passage of the draft bills when transmitted.
At the report presentation ceremony held at the Ministry of Justice, Abuja, the AGF said: “The inauguration of the committee was the first major step taken by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration towards realizing the goal of improving Nigeria’s electoral process and to put a stop to wanton destruction and violence often occasioned by failure of law enforcement agencies to tackle electoral fraud”.
Mr Malami (SAN) expressed joy that the committee had made meaningful recommendations on “how to strengthen the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the participation of independent candidates, the management of political parties, tackling of electoral offences, management of electoral dispute resolutions as well as issues affecting state independent Electoral commissions”. Others areas he disclosed are “the use of technology in elections, Diaspora voting and access for Persons Living With Disabilities”.
Chairman of the Committee, Senator Ken Nnamani had earlier said that the Committee swung into action soon after its inauguration on the 4th of October 2016. Senator Nnamani explained that the Committee was guided by its 13 terms of reference and painstakingly carried out its job by engaging and interacting with stakeholders across the length and breadth of the country.
The report of the Committee according to Senator Nnamani was in two volumes, “the first volume is the main report containing recommendations on how to improve the electoral process in Nigeria attached to it are four draft bills on the amendment of relevant provisions of the constitution, amendment of the Electoral Act, establishment of Political Parties and Electoral Offences Commission and the establishment of Constituency Delimitation Centre. The other volume contains minutes of our meetings, cluster reports, proceedings of the retreats and public hearings and copies of memoranda we received from the public.”
Senator Nnamani noted that the recommendations of the Committee will become the executive bill that will go to the National Assembly before it will be harmonized alongside those of the Senate and House of Representatives.
He observed that the Senate had already passed its amendment to the Electoral Act but stressed that: “the Senate will find the work of the Executive useful and what they have already can be improved on”.
