the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Senate President, GODSWILL AKPABIO, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, TAJUDEEN ABBAS to immediately withdraw the oppressive bill which contains repressive provisions to jail any Nigerian if they fail to vote in national and state elections.

SERAP urged Mr AKPABIO and Mr ABBAS to instead amend the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and the Electoral Act 2022 to remove constitutional immunity for state governors and their deputies who commit electoral offences, including vote-buying, to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators.

SERAP also urged the National Assembly to amend the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act to explicitly prohibit the appointment of members of any political party as resident electoral commissioners (RECs) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In the letter signed by SERAP deputy director KOLAWOLE OLUWADARE, the organisation said jailing eligible Nigerians for deciding not to vote would be entirely inconsistent and incompatible with the letter and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution and the country’s international human rights obligations.