By Mike Odiakose, Abuja

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on Sunday took Lawmakers in the National Assembly to the cleaners over the proposed bill to make voting mandatory and jail Nigerians who fail to vote.

In a statement by NANS National Vice President, Inter-Campus and Gender Affairs, Akinbodunse Sileola Felicia, on Sunday in Abeokuta, described the bill as not only “ridiculous but laughable,” urging the NASS to ditch the ludicrous idea or face the wrath of Nigerian students.

The NASS had proposed a new bill titled ‘Bill for an Act to Amend the Electoral Act 2022 to Make it Mandatory for All Nigerians of Majority Age to Vote in All National and State Elections and for Related Matters.

If passed, the bill would make voting mandatory for all eligible Nigerians, marking a significant shift in Nigeria’s electoral landscape.

It proposes that any eligible voter who fails to vote without a valid reason would face a penalty, including a fine of N100,000, a six-month jail term, or both.

The bill, which has sparked heated debates across the country, according to NASS, aims to address voter apathy, a persistent issue in Nigerian elections and increase civic participation in the democratic process.

Akinbodunse, however, in the statement, said the proposed bill is a misplaced priority by the NASS and should be discarded accordingly.

She added that voting, which is a constitutional right of Nigerians who are eligible to vote, cannot be imposed on them, particularly when they strongly feel their votes don’t actually count.

Her words: “NANS views the proposed bill by the National Assembly to impose fines and a jail term on eligible Nigerians who do not vote as not only ridiculous but laughable. 

“The bill, if passed, will make Nigeria a laughing stock among the comity of nations. Where in the world is a non-participant in an election jailed or fined?

“It is unfortunate that the NASS, which is saddled with the constitutional responsibility and duty to make laws that will ensure the development of the nation and protect its citizens, is the one proposing a bill capable of strangulating the same people. 

“Instead of the NASS making laws that will strengthen our democracy and enhance the electoral processes, it has busied itself with passing a bill that will infringe on the rights of Nigerians.

“It is known by Nigerians that the country’s electoral processes are still fraught with irregularities and loopholes that give room for electoral fraud and rigging. 

“This is the area NANS expects the National Assembly to work on. Rather, it has continued to make Nigerians doubt the competence and sincerity of members of both the Senate and House of Representatives.

“This proposed bill is another comedy show from the stable of the NASS. As the umbrella body of students in the country, NANS will mobilize massively against this proposed bill aimed at imposing a needless law on Nigerians.”

Akinbodunse, who declared that NANS would mobilize massively against the proposed bill, urged civil societies, organized labour, and other stakeholders to stand against the proposed legislation, which she described as “a low one from the National Assembly.”

Chairman of Labour Party Caucus in the House of Representatives, Rep. Afam Ogene, has blamed mass defections of lawmakers to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on the former Chairman, Julius Abure’s leadership failure.

Ogene said this in an interview in Abuja on Friday.

He said that it was Abure’s intransigence that triggered mass defections to the ruling party.

“Politicians always plan for the next elections.

“Therefore, they have to leave in a hurry, but some of us who believe so much in the rule of law have to stay and contend with Abure for the good of the party,” he said.

The lawmaker, however, said that the Labour Party caucus was not diminished in spite of the defections.

Ogene, who assured of a stronger and better Labour Party, said that Abure’s tenure officially ended in June 2024.

He accused the former chairman of being selfish in his political pursuit, saying that this was not favourable to the party.

This, he said, led Abure into refusing to cede the chairmanship position to the North, as planned by the stakeholders.

The caucus chairman wondered how fair it would be for the party to field a southern presidential candidate under the watch of a southern national chairman.

He appealed to Nigerians to keep hope alive, assuring of a revived and formidable Labour Party.

The lawmaker affirmed the viability of Labour Party as an opposition political party, saying that Peter Obi had remained the only formidable opposition voice.

Ogene reiterated the resilience of the caucus to continue to bring the ruling party into check for a transparent and accountable democracy.

He assured Nigerians of the party’s commitment to constitutional democracy through constructive opposition. (NAN)

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State, on Friday, rejected the resignation of its Publicity Secretary, Mr Kennedy Peretei.

The state leadership of the party, led by Dr Bakitta Bello, the Chairman of the PDP Caretaker Committee in Ondo State, visited the publicity Secretary in Akure.

Report says that Peretei on Wednesday tendered his resignation letter to the party in his ward in Arogbo Ward 1 in Êse Odo Local Government Area of the state, citing selfish leadership as a cause of his resignation.

Bello told Peretei that the recent happenings in the party in the state were not sufficient enough to make him resign his membership and therefore prevailed on him to reconsider his resignation.

“Yes, you have the right to feel offended if you need to. But you must also understand as an experienced politician that a combination of factors are always responsible for any particular action or resolution of a political party.

“You are a true party man and that is the reason we have come to make you change your mind.

“You have to rescind your decision to quit the party because we are not accepting your resignation letter,” he said.

Earlier on, the State Publicity Secretary had told the committee members why he took such decision to quit the party, saying that he felt betrayed and disappointed by the attitude of some persons whom he held in high esteem.(NAN)