Voting May Become a Duty, Not a Choice
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the second reading of a bill seeking to make voting compulsory for all eligible Nigerians. Sponsored by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Labour Party’s Daniel Asama Ago (Bassa/Jos North), the bill aims to tackle voter apathy and reduce vote-buying by making electoral participation a civic obligation.
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Leading the debate, Ago argued that making voting mandatory, as seen in countries like Australia, could revive interest in the democratic process. Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu backed the bill, calling it a progressive move. However, concerns were raised by some lawmakers over the credibility of the voters’ register and declining public trust in the electoral system.
Meanwhile, the House stepped down a separate bill proposing six months of maternity leave for working women. Sponsored by Hon. Chike Okafor (Okigwe South/Imo/APC), the proposal faced pushback—even from female lawmakers—who feared it might discourage employers from hiring women.
In a separate motion, the House resolved to establish at least one computer-based testing (CBT) centre in each of the 774 local government areas. This decision followed JAMB’s confession of technical errors that marred the 2025 UTME, affecting thousands of candidates.
Senate backing has already been signalled, with the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions Chair, Mohammed Dandutse, confirming that budgetary allocations for these centres would be included in the 2026 fiscal year. Dandutse lamented the limited number of CBT centres in places like Katsina South, where only 2 out of 11 LGAs have ICT facilities.
JAMB Registrar Ishaq Oloyede admitted during a press briefing that 379,997 candidates would retake the UTME due to technical hitches in 157 of 887 exam centres nationwide. His emotional appeal followed national uproar over mass failures, low scores, and alleged irregularities in this year’s exam.
The House urged calm as JAMB works to correct the issues and pledged support for establishing CBT infrastructure to prevent future occurrences.
