The House of Representatives has passed a bill for second reading that seeks to ensure all election petitions are resolved before winners of general elections are sworn into office.
The proposed legislation is titled, “A Bill for an Act to Further Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Provide for the Determination of All Appeals Arising from Election Petition Tribunals Prior to Swearing-in of President-Elect, Vice-President-Elect, Governor-Elect, Deputy Governor-Elect, Members-Elect of the National and State Assemblies and for Related Matters (HB. 1154).”
The Bill, sponsored by Mansur Soro, lawmaker representing Darazo/Ganjuwa federal constituency in Bauchi, alongside five other lawmakers, was passed for second reading during planeray onTuesday.
If enacted, the bill would introduce a new subsection mandating that “all appeals arising from presidential, governorship, national, and state assembly election petition tribunals shall be determined by the appellate courts prior to the swearing-in of candidates declared as winners by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”
Additionally, the bill proposes empowering INEC to “prepare its guidelines and timelines of activities to provide sufficient time for the determination of all appeal cases before the swearing-in of candidates”.
