Gbajabiamila to EU: Our Goal is to Make Electoral Law Perfect

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has assured that the ninth House was committed to make the Electoral Act perfect and acceptable to the majority of Nigerians.

The Speaker, in a statement issued yesterday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Lanre Lasisi gave the assurance when he hosted a team of the European Union (EU) delegation in Nigeria led by the Head of Mission, Ambassador Samuela Isopi.

Gbajabiamila said though no country had a perfect electoral system, the National Assembly was making serious efforts to make Nigeria’s electoral law to be in tune with the country’s peculiarities.

He said, “You talked about the much talked about Electoral Act amendment. For you to have a good democracy, you need to have a good electoral law. Our electoral law is not perfect, just like your own is not perfect.
“But our goal is to make it perfect. That’s why in the 9th Assembly, we try to see that we make our Electoral Act to be perfect. We took our time to be thorough without sacrificing anything.

The Speaker said the Electoral Act (amendment) Bill was passed early enough by the National Assembly and would be transmitted to the president for his assent soon.
Gbajabiamila added: “Today, we’re at the threshold of history. We want to have an Electoral Act that is acceptable to the majority of Nigerians. We want an Electoral Act that does not compromise the sovereignty of Nigeria. That’s key to us. Nigeria is a very plural society in terms of religion and ethnicity. These are some of the considerations we have to make.”

Speaking on the issue of gender participation in politics, the Speaker said gender inclusion was one of the priority of the ninth House, hence, it’s inclusion in the legislative agenda.
Gbajabiamila noted, “We also try not to discriminate against men. In doing that, one of the innovations is to amend the constitution to create an extra senatorial zone exclusively for women.”

Addressing the issue of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), he said the House did a lot in that regard.
According to him, “we dedicated a day of sitting to that sometime in the past. We’re still working proactively to make sure that SGBV laws are domesticated in the states.”
Earlier, Isopi said the visit was to introduce herself as the new head of mission of EU in Nigeria.
She reiterated EU’s commitment to continue strengthening its partnership with Nigeria, National Assembly and the House, and to formally announce the coming of a special mission later this month.

Isopi noted: “We have closely followed the developments here, and I’ll like to applaud the approach that the National Assembly has taken in the electoral amendment. We’ll continue to support democratic governance and institutions in Nigeria.”

She said since 1999, the union had been a major partner and supporter of Nigeria’s democracy, especially in the area of supporting the National Assembly on electoral matters, women and the youth.
She stated that the issue of SGBV remained a priority to the EU and Nigeria, stressing that they would count on Gbajabiamila’s support to engage the speakers of state Houses of Assembly on the SBGV and the Child Rights Act.