Gbajabiamila clears air over alleged alteration to Electoral Act Amendment Bill

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has allayed fears over a reported alteration in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill as being speculated in some quarters.

Gbajabiamila made this clarification on Tuesday in response to a point on matters of privilege by Rep. Ugouna Ozurigbo (APC-Imo) during the plenary in Abuja.

Ozurigbo had claimed that he received information that the House Committee on Electoral Matters, chaired by Rep. Aisha Duku (APC-Gombe) had altered the bill.

“A number of Nigerians, particularly my constituency have been calling me to expressing worry about the alteration to the electoral bill.

”I am a member of the committee, I don’t know the information going around where they said that we carefully amended section 50 sub-section 2 of the electoral bill.

“That the agreed electronically transmitted election results have been changed to manually transmitted,” he said

The Speaker, however, said that the speculation was unfounded.

“I really don’t want to speak on a report that has not yet been submitted to the house,” he said.

He said that the committee had been given an assignment and would be submitted to the house once the job is finished.

“I have asked the chairman of the committee and she said that nothing of such has been done,” he said.

Gbajabiamila said that the report would be laid before the House proceed on its recess on July 14.