Electoral Act: Why We Passed Original Committee Recommendation – Member

Babangida Ibrahim the member representing Malumfashi/Kafur federal constituency of Katsina State has revealed that the House of Representatives adopted and passed the initial committee report which recommended direct and indirect primaries for political parties.

Babangida Ibrahim disclosed this while speaking on the passage of the re-amended electoral act by the House on Wednesday.

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The House of Representatives was accused on Wednesday of deliberating on a different version of the bill but Hon Ibrahim said, “The consideration done was the original committee report. People don’t understand.

“It was the original committee position. All the committees. So, the amendment which recommended direct primaries was brought by the Speaker during the consideration of the report.

“The changes were made during the consideration of the report and insisted on direct primaries. What the House did now was simply going back to the committees report.

“So, people have initially believed that it was the initial position of the committee of the two chambers.

“The committee report was initially for direct and indirect primaries. An amendment was brought on the floor during the consideration of the report. So, what we did was just go back to the committee’s position”.

Shedding more light on why Consensus was done away with by the House, he said it gives an undue advantage to selected few leading to the imposition of candidates and disqualifying other candidates.

He added: “Consensus was done away with because it was an issue.

“It gives some people an advantage to work against the wish of the people. Because, when you say Consensus, who organises Consensus?

“Under normal circumstances when we talk about Consensus, it is a situation where you allow people to really contest.

“To obtain forms, campaign. Maybe a day to the election, they can now sit down and do a Consensus.

“But it has been redefined to submitting only one name of somebody and disqualifying the others.

“That is wrong. That is not Consensus. So, that is why we said, let us just do away with Consensus”.

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