Adeyemi titled his proposed bill: “A Bill for an act to Amend the Electoral Act 2022 and for other related matters connected 2022.”
By Jeffrey Agbo
Senator Smart Adeyemi (Kogi-West, APC) has proposed a bill seeking to end nomination of candidates of same religion for president and vice presidential positions.
Adeyemi said at a news conference on Sunday in Abuja that the bill would forestall such matters now dominating the 2023 elections from recurring in the future.
Adeyemi titled his proposed bill: “A Bill for an act to Amend the Electoral Act 2022 and for other related matters connected 2022.”
Adeyemi said the bill was seeking to amend Section 84 of the Act by inserting a new subsection (3).
According to him the proposed sub section 3 entails that: “No political party shall nominate candidates of the same religion as Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates after this dispensation.”
“This bill may be cited as Electoral Act 2022 (Amendment) Bill, 2022,” Adeyemi said.
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The lawmaker also said the bill sought to amend the Electoral Act 2022 to promote religious harmony in the country by discouraging political parties from fielding running mates of same religion with the presidential candidate.
“I hereby propose an amendment of Section 84 of the Electoral Act 2022 by inserting a new sub section 3…
“For me as a statesman, I owe myself the responsibility to speak the truth at all times, irrespective of mischievous misinterpretations,” Adeyemi said.
Adeyemi said he supported the positions of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on the contentious issue of Muslim–Muslim ticket fielded by the APC.
He, however, said he was fully in support of the candidacy of Senators Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima as APC candidates for the 2023 presidential election, given their individual steering performances and pedigrees in governance.