Electoral Act 2022 a turning point for Nigeria – Fagbemi
A legal luminary, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN has said with Electoral Act 2022, the 2023 general elections will mark a turning point for Nigeria.
Fagbemi said the Electoral Act 2022 is commendable for the laudable provisions contained therein and noted that for legislation to be successful, the provisions must consider the existing internal realities.
The legal luminary explained that, based on a series of innovations in the Electoral Act 2022 like technological advancement, especially the BVAS, Nigeria is now a step closer to a perfect election.
Fagbemi stated this while delivering a paper titled “Nigeria: Within the Compass of the 2023 General Elections” as the keynote speaker at an event organised by the Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria (MULAN) Federal Capital Territory (FCT),Tuesday, at the National Mosque.
According to Fagbemi, the Electoral Act 2022 will enable citizens to make a better choice of leaders, and exercise their franchise without prejudice or primordial consideration.
He stated “BVAS is now like a gateway that interrogates a prospective electorate to determine whether such is eligible to vote since accreditation of voters is solely based on same unlike in the past where the resort is had to what is called incidence form.
“This shows that there is a footprint of every voter and can be explained if the need arises. It shuts the door on the era of unexplained over voting and other issues related to inconsistencies in the number of voters.
“Furthermore, with the electronic transmission of votes, challenges like ballot box snatching and interception of ballot papers have been addressed and one can trust that this can bring about a reduction in post-election violence that is often associated with transportation of ballot boxes and other voting materials.
“The Electoral Act also promises to bring more sanity and transparency to the electoral process in 2023 if the provisions of the Act can be followed, explore, and enforced to the letter without fear or favor.”
Earlier in his remarks, Chairman MULAN FCT chapter, Yahaya Dangana said
2023 is an election year and most of its members will be engaged in prosecuting and or defending election petitions.
He explained that they have carefully carved the themes and the sub-themes, and equally selected the resource persons to broaden members’ knowledge.
Highlights of the event include the presentation of awards to its members that were recently elevated to the prestigious rank of SAN and National Honours.
