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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters has proposed the disqualification and N5 million fine for candidates in election found by the court to have submitted false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) in respect to their eligibility for the election.
According to the proposal, in a situation, where the election has been held before the judgement and the winner is found guilty of presenting false information on his or her eligibility to the electoral body, the court shall direct the commission to declare the candidate with the second highest valid votes who satisfy the constitutional requirements as winner of the election, while the candidate who does not meet the qualification requirements, shall be liable to a fine or N5 million.
This is part of the committee’s report on the Electoral Act 2022 Amendment Bill. The report, which was laid before the House on December 3, barring any last minute change, would be considered by the Green chamber, at the Committee of the Whole tomorrow.
The proposed legislation, which recommends a fine of N5million, against N500,000 stipulated by the extant law, for anyone found guilty of buying or selling votes or in possession of voter card(s), that does not belong to them, proposes the mandatory use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) or any other technological devices for voter accreditation. While anyone found guilty of inducing delegates , during primary election, shall be liable to two years imprisonment.
Nonetheless, the panel proposes that “voting at an election and transmission of results shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the commission.” And stipulated in clause 60(3) that “the commission shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IREV portal in real time and such transmission shall be done simultaneously with the physical collation of results .”
The proposed legislation states that in situations where results are in dispute, the collation officer shall use the original of the disputed result, the BVAS or other technological devices used for accreditation in the polling units, data of accreditation and the votes and results of the election to determine the correctness of the results.
Furthermore, the panel proposed that “each political party shall make the register of members available to the commission not later than 30 days before the date fixed for the party primaries, congresses and conventions and only members whose names are contained in the register shall be eligible to vote and be voted for in party primaries, congresses and conventions”, stating that a political party cannot use another register, other than the one submitted to INEC for its primaries, while a political party that fails to submit the membership register within the stipulated period shall not be eligible to present candidates for that election.
Furthermore, the committee proposed that “where a court finds that a political party failed to comply with the provisions of the law in the conduct of its primaries, its candidates for election shall not be included in the election for the particular position” among others.
The CCB has also given the reasons behind the law forbidding public servants from
combining government work with private business and operating foreign accounts.
According to Dr Bello, public service is a sacred trust that must not be compromised.
“When a civil servant runs a business alongside official duties, questions naturally arise about commitment and integrity. Are you spending your time doing your work? Or are you spending your time conducting private business?” he asked.
Bello clarified that being a director in a company, operating a business account or being a signatory to such an account, clearly indicate business involvement and therefore constitute a breach.
The CCB chairman also warned that public servants are prohibited from operating foreign accounts.
“One of the reasons why we have that is that some public servants will steal money from the government and then take it abroad.
“We have seen so many cases of public servants stashing money away. So any public servant that has a foreign bank account is supposed to close that account, stop operating it, until after he has finished his public service,” he said.
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Beyond business activities, the CCB boss also raised concern about the growing abuse of gift-giving involving public servants.
He warned that gifts from government contractors are strictly prohibited.
Bello said certain categories of public servants – the president, the vice president, the governors, the justices, the judges – are not allowed to be a public servant, once they leave their jobs
“”You are not allowed to work for any foreign government because you hold certain vital information.
“If you are working for a foreign organisation or foreign institutions, that might compromise the security and the interests of Nigeria,” he said.
The CCB Chairman also raised concern about misuse of loans as a cover for bribery.
He said the law restricts certain categories of public servants to borrowing only from recognised financial institutions, where the legitimacy of the transaction can be verified.
He further highlighted the growing use of agents and nominees as a tactic to bypass anti-corruption rules.
“These agents may include spouses, children, relatives, or close friends, but the official remains culpable once it is established that they are the ultimate beneficiary of the illicit act,” he said
Additionally, the CCB Chairman noted that public servants are restricted from belonging to certain organisations.
“Membership in secret cults or any group whose activities conflict with the dignity, transparency, or integrity of public office is prohibited.
“Such affiliations can tarnish the image of the public service and constitute another violation of the Code of Conduct,” he said
To sensitise the people to the breaches, the CCB Chairman said the bureau has a designated department, though inhibited by funding.
Bello said, whenever he is invited to public functions, he always seized the opportunity to talk about CCB’s operations
In addition to encouraging MDAs to organise sensitisation programmes for their staff members, Bello said the bureau is partnering with head of services of all the states to enlighten the workers.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the bureau to enforcing ethical standards in public service to promote transparency, accountability, and public trust.
