By Paul Effiong, Abuja
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas is pushing for a legislation that will allow Nigerians in the diaspora vote from wherever they are at any given election in the country.
This is even as the House of Representatives yesterday passed through second reading, a bill seeking protection for government entities from failure by contractors to deliver within a targeted period, which is sponsored by the speaker.
Sadiq Ango Abdullahi is a co-sponsor of the Bill on Diaspora Voting, while Marcus Onobun co-sponsored the amendment of the Public Procurement Act.
Leading debate on the general principles of the Bill on Diaspora Voting on behalf of the speaker, Abdullahi argued that Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) grants citizens the fundamental right of freedom of expression and opinion.
“All citizens irrespective of their location anywhere in the globe should be given the right and freedom to express themselves in our country’s general election,” he said.
The speaker explained that since Nigerians abroad meet their financial obligations to the country through remittances, it is fair and proper that they are given the right to carry out their civic responsibility of expressing their leadership preference during elections.
“It is widely believed that diaspora remittances have contributed remarkably to the development of Nigeria. Nigerians in the diaspora make considerable contribution to the economy through huge financial inflow to the country. Sadly, the existing laws in Nigeria have not made any provision granting voting rights to Nigerians in the diaspora.
“Consequently, the agitation for voting rights for Nigerians in the diaspora has continued to gain momentum. It is a practice that allows for holistic inclusiveness in a democratic society,” he said.
The speaker said: “Section 1 of the bill guarantees the voting rights of citizens living outside Nigeria. The section provides that elections to be conducted under this Act if passed, shall include elections which the commission is empowered by law.
“Section 4 provides that this Act if passed, shall not invalidate the existing laws in Nigeria. It only provides a platform for Nigerians in the diaspora to participate in elections conducted in Nigeria.”
He added that the benefit of such a law will be that it allows Nigerians in their respective countries of residence to vote in the general elections without the rigors and logistic challenges of travelling to Nigeria to exercise their voting rights among others.
Also, leading the debate on the bill that seeks to amend the Public Procurement Act, Onobun, who spoke on behalf of the speaker, said the draft legislation would provide better protection for procuring government entities who often find themselves at the receiving end whenever contractors fail to deliver on their contractual agreements.
He noted that “a community reading of the objectives, powers and functions of the Bureau of Public Procurement under the Act establishes the fact that its intendment is to protect the interest of stakeholders, particularly the procuring entity and the contractors in the procurement process to ensure transparency, timeous and quality delivery of goods and services among others.”
He, however, observed that “the gap in the Act, which the Bill, if passed, seeks to remedy, is contained in Section 37, as it seems to make provisions for the protection of contractors in the event of delay of payment without any requisite provision for the protection of the procuring entity in the event that a contractor fails to deliver a contract within the targeted period.
“For ease of reference, the existing Section 37 provides as follows: ‘S.37 (1) payment for the procurement of goods, works and services shall be settled promptly and diligently.
“(2)Any payment due for more than 60 days from the date of the submission of the invoice, valuation certificate or confirmation or authentication by the ministry, extra-ministerial office, government agency, parastatal or corporation shall be deemed a delayed payment.
“(3) All delayed payments shall attract interest at the rate specified in the contract document.
“(4)All contracts shall include terms, specifying the interest for late payment of more than 60 days.
“It is clear from the above that there has to be a contract document that must make provisions for the payment of specified interest to contractors in the event that their payment is delayed.
“The new Section 37A under this bill is to make a requisite provision to protect the procuring entity in the event that the contractor(s) fails to deliver a contract within the targeted date. The new provisions state as follows:
“S.37A-Nothwithstanding any provision in the contract of agreement, where a contractor fails to deliver a contract within the targeted period with express permission from the relevant authority, the contractor shall be entitled to a grace of 90 days after which the contractor shall be liable to pay damages not exceeding five percent of the contract sum.”
The two bills were eventually referred to the Committees on Electoral Matters Public Procurement, respectively, for further legislative actions.
