Taiwo Popoola
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has slammed the National Assembly over a proposed bill to make voting mandatory and jail Nigerians who fail to vote.
The student body, in a statement by its National Vice President, Inter-Campus and Gender Affairs, Akinbodunse Sileola Felicia, on Sunday in Abeokuta, described the bill as not only “ridiculous but laughable,” urging the NASS to ditch the ludicrous idea or face the wrath of Nigerian students.
The NASS had proposed a new bill titled ‘Bill for an Act to Amend the Electoral Act 2022 to Make it Mandatory for All Nigerians of Majority Age to Vote in All National and State Elections and for Related Matters.’
If passed, the bill would make voting mandatory for all eligible Nigerians, marking a significant shift in Nigeria’s electoral landscape.
It proposes that any eligible voter who fails to vote without a valid reason would face a penalty, including a fine of N100,000, a six-month jail term, or both.
The bill, which has sparked heated debates across the country, according to NASS, aims to address voter apathy, a persistent issue in Nigerian elections and increase civic participation in the democratic process.
Akinbodunse, however, in the statement, said the proposed bill is a misplaced priority by the NASS and should be discarded accordingly.
She added that voting, which is a constitutional right of Nigerians who are eligible to vote, cannot be imposed on them, particularly when they strongly feel their votes don’t count.
Her words: “NANS views the proposed bill by the National Assembly to impose fines and a jail term on eligible Nigerians who do not vote as not only ridiculous but laughable. The bill, if passed, will make Nigeria a laughing stock among the comity of nations. Where in the world is a non-participant in an election jailed or fined?
“It is unfortunate that the NASS, which is saddled with the constitutional responsibility and duty to make laws that will ensure the development of the nation and protect its citizens, is the one proposing a bill capable of strangulating the same people. Instead of the NASS making laws that will strengthen our democracy and enhance the electoral processes, it has busied itself with passing a bill that will infringe on the rights of Nigerians.
“It is known by Nigerians that the country’s electoral processes are still fraught with irregularities and loopholes that give room for electoral fraud and rigging. This is the area NANS expects the National Assembly to work on. Rather, it has continued to make Nigerians doubt the competence and sincerity of members of both the Senate and House of Representatives.
“This proposed bill is another comedy show from the stable of the NASS. As the umbrella body of students in the country, NANS will mobilize massively against this proposed bill aimed at imposing a needless law on Nigerians.”
Akinbodunse, who declared that NANS would mobilize massively against the proposed bill, urged civil societies, organized labour, and other stakeholders to stand against the proposed legislation, which she described as “a low one from the National Assembly.
