By Levinus Nwabughiogu

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, yesterday assured that work would be completed on the Electoral Offences Act before the expiration of the 9th National Assembly in June.

He also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to collaborate with stakeholders and evaluate the electoral process, with the aim of identifying and correcting major anomalies encountered during the 2023 general elections.

The remarks were contained in the address made by the speaker at yesterday’s resumption of plenary after a two-week break for the elections.

Gbajabiamila, who noted that the Offences Act would help curtail fraud in the system., said: “I wish to thank the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and all the staff of the commission for their hard work and commitment to ensuring free and fair elections across the country.

“I wish to also express my gratitude to the men and women of the security agencies who ensured the worst predictions of crises and conflict did not come to pass.  Any objective assessment of these 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.

“Amendments to our nation’s electoral laws by the legislature, pronouncements by the judiciary and operational reforms by the electoral commission have significantly improved elections in Nigeria since 1999.

“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.

“With each new election season, we become more aware of areas requiring changes to ensure a better outing next time. This process of ongoing reform and continuous improvement must continue.

“As a necessary first step, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, should collaborate with stakeholders to conduct a meticulous assessment of the election process. This is necessary to inform further reforms and improvements.

“The Electoral Offences Act is one area where we must take action before the culmination of the 9th House of Representatives. The Act is necessary to ensure effective enforcement against individuals and organisations whose violations of our electoral laws undermine our constitution and threaten our democracy.

“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 our elections.”