Bayelsa West Senator, Seriake Dickson, has called on the members of the Senate–House of Representatives conference committee on the Electoral Amendment Bill to adopt in full the version passed by the House of Representatives.
Dickson made this call on Wednesday while addressing newsmen in Abuja, warning that any dilution of the electronic transmission provision could undermine electoral integrity.
This is coming barely 48 hours after the Senate restored the electronic transmission of election results to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC’s Result Viewing Portal, while permitting manual collation as a backup where technology fails.
According to the former Bayelsa State Governor, who is a member of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, extensive work had already been done by lawmakers and stakeholders to strengthen the nation’s electoral framework before recent alterations by the Senate.
“For almost two years, as a member of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, we worked extensively on amendments to the electoral laws. I think we should adopt the House of Representatives’ version.
“We held workshops, joint sessions with the House of Representatives, meetings with INEC, the technical committee, consultants and other stakeholders, as well as public hearings in Abuja and Lagos.
“We all agreed, crucially with INEC, on a framework that would regulate the conduct of elections in this country moving forward.
“But we could not conclude the process before tragedy struck. The Deputy Governor of my state collapsed suddenly and died, throwing the entire state and my family into mourning,” he said.
