By TOM CHIAHEMEN, Abuja –
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said today that the new Electoral Act contains many progressive provisions that will facilitate the conduct of free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier in the morning signed the Electoral Bill 2022 into law.
Reacting to the development, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye Esq, said “this is historic being the fourth time since the restoration of democracy in Nigeria in 1999 that the Electoral Act is repealed and re-enacted.”
Okoye noted in a statement he issued in Abuja that the nation now has the Electoral Act 2022 which replaces the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).
“Together with the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the new Act constitutes the principal law to govern the conduct of future elections, including the 2023 General Election,” he said.
According to him, “given the tight timelines contained in the new law, the Commission fully appreciates the importance of proceeding with their implementation in earnest.”
“Consequently, an extraordinary meeting of the Commission is scheduled for tomorrow Saturday 26th February 2022. Thereafter, a statement will be issued on the way forward,” he disclosed.
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