Consequently, it resolved at the plenary yesterday to set up an ad-hoc Committee to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the matter and report back to the House within five weeks and urged the security agencies to provide maximum security for all INEC officials at their respective places of assignments to guard against any form of intimidation which the Commission admitted prompted its officials to register the underaged voters in the first instance.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion moved to that effect by Honourable. Johnbull Giemlong SheKarau titled , “call to investigate the registration and issuance of Permanent Voters Cards to under Aged Voters by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC” with an amendment from the duo of Hon Chukuka Onyema and Uzoma Abonta who sought for the setting up of an Ad-hoc Committee to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the matter.
Moving the motion, Hon. Johnbull Giemlong Shekarau said that” the House Notes that Section 12 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides that a person shall be qualified to be registered as a voter if such a person has attained the age of eighteen years and the INEC is empowered to register and issue Permanent Voters’ Cards to eligible Nigerians.”
According to the lawmaker, “concerned about reports from the social, print and electronic media which indicated that there were incidences of underaged voters who presented themselves at polling units with Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) to vote in the recently conducted Local Government Elections in Kano State.
He added that the Director of Publicity and Voter Education at INEC, Oluwole Osaze Uzzi while responding to questions on the Africa Independent Television (AIT) on the matter on 15/02/2018, said that the underaged voters were registered because the lives of the registration officers were being threatened.
Hon Sekerau lamented that the incidence caused serious embarrassment to the nation and amounted to a threat to the nation’s growing democracy and a danger to the security of lives of officials posted to handle sensitive national issues such as registration of eligible voters.
He then moved that the House should mandate it’s Committee on Electoral and Political Matters to investigate the incidence and report back within five weeks for further legislative action.
How however while supporting the motion, the duo of Onyema and Abonta sought for an Ad-hoc Committee because of the magnitudes of the incidence and implication to the nation’s future electoral process.
Most of the lawmakers who contributed to the debate including E J Agbonayinma, Mohammed Umar Bago, Uzoma Abonta, Henry Achibong, among others condemned the act and demanded a decisive action from the lawmakers in the over the interest of the Nation.
When the motion was put into voice voting by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara who presided over the plenary, it was unanimously supported.
and then