A proposed law to make voting mandatory for eligible Nigerians has advanced to the next stage in the House of Representatives after passing its second reading.
The bill, introduced by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Daniel Ago, seeks to boost citizen involvement in elections. During the debate, Ago argued that compulsory voting would help reduce voter apathy.
However, Mark Esset, a Peoples Democratic Party member from Akwa Ibom State, opposed the idea, stating that simply forcing people to vote won’t fix the electoral system. He emphasized that many Nigerians avoid voting because they doubt their votes will make a difference.
“We can’t build something on nothing. If people don’t trust the system, we have more work to do. Before making voting compulsory, we must ensure votes actually count,” Esset said.
More details to follow…
