Voting on March 11: Senate instructs INEC to adhere to Constitution and Electoral Act

The Senate demanded yesterday that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, strictly abide by the 1999 Constitution as amended and the Electoral Act 2022 in the conduct of the March 11, 2023 governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections.

The President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, called on the electoral umpire to take into account all concerns raised by voters during the recently concluded presidential and National Assembly elections yesterday in Abuja before the Senate adjourned until March 14.
The Senate was adjourned to allow senators to take part in the elections and campaigns.

“I believe INEC should take into account looking into issues brought up by the public,” Lawan said. The Constitution, the Electoral Act, and their rules and regulations must be strictly followed by INEC.

“Nigerians should do everything in their power to support INEC so that it can successfully conduct the governorship and state assembly elections.

“This is because that is what we all want and what a democracy needs,” the speaker said. The next two weeks will be spent away from this location, after which we will resume our legislative duties.

“I want to thank every senator for their efforts in making the Ninth Senate a success. This legislative week is now over. The purpose of meeting again right away after the presidential and National Assembly elections was to make sure we were up to speed on everything, including what had happened during the election as well as what was going on right now.

“This is so that we can continue to contribute to the solution when necessary. We have done that, and in the process, we have also completed other legislative work.

We must adjourn so that everyone can take part in the governors’ and state assembly members’ elections and campaigns.

Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege, running for governor of Delta on the All Progressives Congress, APC, platform, Sens. Aishatu Binani (APC-Adamawa), Haliru Jika (NNPP-Bauchi), and Sandy Onor were among the seven serving senators who Lawan noted were running for governor (PDP-Cross River).

Others include Sens. Teslim Folarin, Emmanuel Bwacha, and Uba Sani (all from the APC-Kadana) (APC-Oyo).

“We wish them all the best, and Nigeria and this Senate will both make history,” they said.

“Senator Binani will create history if she is chosen to be the first female governor of Nigeria. We encourage all of our coworkers who are running for office as well as those of us who are not to go and take part in the processes so that we can see some of the potential problems up close.

On the whole, the presidential and National Assembly elections went smoothly, but Lawan continued, “We still have a few complaints coming from the public.