Nigerian Senate has again failed to pass the long-awaited Electoral Act Amendment Bill, despite spending more than four hours in a closed-door session.
This marks the third unsuccessful attempt in two weeks to conclude deliberations on the bill, which is expected to redefine Nigeria’s electoral process ahead of the next general election.
The bill was initially scheduled for consideration last week but were stepped down to allow senators 24 hours to study the clauses and familiarise themselves with the proposed amendments.
When the Senate reconvened the following day, lawmakers deliberated in a closed session and resolved to postpone consideration by another day.
On the rescheduled date, instead of proceeding with clause-by-clause deliberation, the Senate constituted an ad-hoc committee to consolidate submissions, harmonise views, and distil the opinions of senators, with a mandate to present a final report for plenary consideration.
However, upon the committee’s return to plenary, the Senate again went into a closed session that lasted over four hours and emerged without passing the bills, further fuelling concerns over what critics describe as delays in the legislative process.
The repeated postponements have raised questions, particularly as elections draw closer and the Constitution requires the release of the electoral timetable at least 360 days before polls.
However the Senate has maintained that it will not rush the passage of the bill, citing the volume of litigations that followed the 2022 elections and the need for careful and thorough legislative scrutiny.
Stakeholders have continued to call for the speedy passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill to meet constitutional timelines and ensure certainty ahead of the forthcoming elections.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
