The National Assembly’s Joint Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission Matters has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), to consider any married girl that is not up to 18 as eligible to vote.
The committee made the call while proposing a review of the provision in the Electoral Act on Wednesday, December 16, 2020.
According to reports, the review was proposed to the Technical Committee on Electoral Reform by the Chairman, Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Kabiru Gaya, and his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Aisha Dukku. The technical panel is made up of lawmakers, INEC officials and civil society groups dealing with election matters.
During the inaugural meeting of the panel, which had the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu in attendance, Gaya and Dukku reportedly told the panel that the proposal was a unanimous decision of the joint committee of the National Assembly.
Reacting to the proposal, INEC boss expressed doubts over the suggestion, saying it may not fly because Nigerias constitution also recognises 18 as the constitutional age of marriage. According to reports, Yakubus response didnt go down well with Dukku, who was reported to have told the INEC Chairman that he shouldnt have dismissed the proposal because the joint panel had adopted it.
Dukku argued that instead of throwing the proposal away, Yakubu should have looked at it and come up with suggestions.
