Deji Elumoye and Chuks Okocha in Abuja
A member of the National Assembly, Senator Christopher Ekpenyong, thursday canvassed for the amendment of the Electoral Act to make the use of card readers compulsory for voters during elections.
Ekpenyong, representing Akwa-Ibom North West senatorial district on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), assured Nigerians that the ninth Senate would ensure that an amendment to the Electoral Act to make card reader compulsory for election is passed soon.
Speaking with journalists after plenary, Ekpenyong, who narrated his experience during the re-run election with his opponent and former Governor of Akwa Ibom State and now Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, said he was ready to sponsor a bill on the amendment of the Electoral Act.
According to him, “The card reader is a very strong device both in accreditation and the determination of who votes by the electorate, and it is through the card reader that we can determine the votes that is being cast, and not just for the court to say it is not recognised in law.
“So we must make sure that the card reader is recognised by law. That is the only way we can go in our Electoral Act. I have gone through electoral processes in Nigeria and to that extent, I will come up with a bill that will change the circumstances of our electoral process that enables the people to choose their leaders and not by guns or court.”
On how his representation has impacted on the lives of his constituents, the lawmaker said he had empowered about 180 persons from Akwa-Ibom North-West senatorial district with resources to invest and fend for themselves.
According to him, “I invited one person each from the 180 wards in my senatorial district to my local government area and brought another person from my border community and gave each of them the sum of N100,000 to engage in a business of their choice.”
