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From Kenneth Udeh, Abuja
The Senate has abandoned its planned electronic voting system for the historic consideration of the State Police Bill and other constitutional amendment proposals, opting instead for a manual roll-call voting process in which senators will be called by name and required to publicly declare their positions.
The dramatic change was announced on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday which is ongoing following a motion moved by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, who argued that technical issues affecting some voting devices could disenfranchise members and undermine the transparency of the process.
Moving the motion, Bamidele said the Senate should allow every senator to vote openly by responding when called upon.
“Rather than go by way of electronic voting, which obviously now will disenfranchise a few or some of our colleagues whose machines are not working, I am moving that we give every distinguished senator the opportunity to answer his or her father’s name by doing manual voting,” he said.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, endorsed the proposal, noting that public voting would also allow constituents to know exactly where their representatives stand on each constitutional amendment.
“For the purpose of transparency, and the need for the constituents to know where you stand on every issue, it is good for us to go into manual voting,” Akpabio said.
Under the adopted procedure, senators will be called individually to stand and declare their votes during the clause-by-clause consideration of the constitutional amendment bills.
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The Senate subsequently set aside the relevant provisions of its Standing Rules via voice vote to accommodate the new voting arrangement and expedite consideration of the landmark legislation.
The development comes just moments after the Senate had conducted test runs of its electronic voting system, which was expected to be used for the first time in the 10th Senate for constitutional amendment voting.
Proceedings are currently ongoing, with Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele leading debate on the State Police Bill, an executive proposal sponsored in his name on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
The State Police Bill remains the centerpiece of the constitutional amendment exercise and is widely regarded as one of the most significant security reforms before the National Assembly. If approved, it would fundamentally alter Nigeria’s policing structure by allowing states to establish and operate their own police services alongside the federal police.
Lawmakers are expected to continue voting on the bill and several other far-reaching constitutional amendments as proceedings continue in the Red Chamber.
All eyes remain on the Senate as it undertakes what many observers have described as a defining constitutional moment in Nigeria’s democratic history.
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