The Speaker of Nigeria’s house of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, says the house would take action on the Electoral Offences Act before the end of the 9th House.
The Speaker made the remark while welcoming members back from the governorship election recess.
The Speaker said the Act is necessary to ensure effective enforcement against individuals and organisations whose violations of the nation’s electoral laws undermine the constitution and threaten the country’s democracy.
Gbajabiamila however noted that, a system of vigorous prosecution and punishment of electoral offenders will serve as a deterrent to others in the future and help build confidence in the country’s elections while adding that any objective assessment of the recent elections will show marked improvements from prior outings.
“This is not to suggest perfection but to acknowledge evident progress in our collective efforts to ensure elections we can all be proud of.
“The amendments to the Electoral Act by the 9th National Assembly have been particularly instrumental in improving the elections process through the use of technology tools to facilitate voter accreditation and transmission of results.
He urged INEC to collaborate with stakeholders to conduct a meticulous assessment of the election process.
