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National Assembly Pass Independent Candidacy Bill

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Northern Senators Forum Announce New Chairman, Executives

The National Assembly on Tuesday passed a bill allowing Independent candidates to contest for elective positions in the country.

The bill would allow an independent candidate to contest in the presidential, governorship, National Assembly, State Houses of Assembly, and Local Government Councils elections.

Naija News reports that 89 voted in support of the bill out of a total of 94 senators registered to vote, while 5 voted against the bill.

The Upper Chamber however threw out a bill seeking to allow Nigerians in Diaspora to vote during elections.

However, a bill that seeks to provide for the election of Mayor for the Federal Capital Territory was rejected by Senators with 62 YES votes. Seventy-three votes were required to pass the Bill.

Also, a bill seeking to ensure that a person who is a registered voter and resident in the FCT is appointed a Minister representing the FCT also failed to scale through.

Only 67 Senators voted YES instead of the required 73.

Meanwhile, prominent Ijaw leader and elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark has stated that the clause in the recently signed Electoral Act 2022 which mandates political appointees to resign their positions before participating in party primaries is in order.

Clark disagreed with the position of President Muhammadu Buhari who stated that the clause runs contrary to the provisions of the Nigerian constitution and would disenfranchise political officeholders.

The elder statesman in his reaction to the clause said it is a welcome development as it will stop impunity and restore sanity in Nigeria’s electoral system.

He added that the clause in the electoral act does not in any way contradict the provisions of the constitution.

The elder statesmen made his view on the matter known via a statement on Tuesday.