Lawmaker Alleges 20 Illegal Insertions In Electoral Bill By Senate

*Backs demand for southern presidency

A member of the House of Representatives from Benue State, Hon.
Mark Terseer Gbillah, yesterday alleged that the Senate made 20
illegal insertions in the 2021 Electoral Act under consideration in
the National Assembly.

He alleged that the insertions were part of a larger scheme to
rig the 2023 general election.

The Benue lawmaker said the chairman of the House committee that
was involved in the harmonisation of the bill asserted that 20
illegal clauses were inserted in the bill.

The lawmaker, who was former Deputy Chairman of the House
Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), condemned the three percent
allocation to oil-producing communities by the Senate, which he
said was “unfortunate and ridiculous.”

He took a swipe at the 30 per cent clause in the Petroleum
Industry Bill (PIB) designated for ‘frontier exploration’, which he
said was an invitation to corruption, and remained
unacceptable.

Speaking on Arise Morning Show, the flagship programme of Arise
News channels, Gbillah alleged that the Senate inserted 20 clauses
that were not originally part of the bill in the Senate version
which was passed into law.

According to him, “Obviously, there is an insertion. I can
confirm that about 20 clauses have been inserted and it has been
alleged that it was inserted from the Senate version. I want to say
that we are at a point in the country where you should not be
playing politics with this issue in this country.

“I wonder why people think that they are going to stay in power
in perpetuation. Tomorrow, it will be somebody else, so we need to
leave a legacy for our country.

“The world is moving forward, and we are still deliberating on
electronic transmission, when it is a forgone issue in other
nations.”

The lawmaker maintained that: “We in the opposition are
insisting that the issue of electronic transmission is sacrosanct,
and we suspect that those insertions were intentional and
premeditated so that the Electoral Act will be contentious, and
won’t be passed so that in the upcoming elections, the ability to
rig and manipulate the result of the election will be
impossible.”

On the three percent allocation to the oil producing communities
and 30 per cent provision for frontier exploration in the PIB Act
passed by the National Assembly to which Niger Delta state
governors have objected, Gbillah said the percentage to the host
communities was ridiculous while the provision for frontier
exploration was an invitation to corruption.

He said: “I don’t believe there is a conspiracy by northern
members of the National Assembly against lawmakers from the South,
but very clearly, there is a concern about the issue of resource
allocation and specifically the management of our oil resources as
enshrined in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).”

On the position of the Southern governors on power shift, he
said they are in support of the agitation, adding that: “With
regards to southern presidency, I do not believe that it is
something out of place.

“It is not a gang up; it is the proper articulation of the
yearnings of the people of Southern Nigeria.

“We completely identify with the Southern governors, and we
believe that it is the way to go.”

*Backs demand for southern presidency

A member of the House of Representatives from Benue State, Hon.
Mark Terseer Gbillah, yesterday alleged that the Senate made 20
illegal insertions in the 2021 Electoral Act under consideration in
the National Assembly.

He alleged that the insertions were part of a larger scheme to
rig the 2023 general election.

The Benue lawmaker said the chairman of the House committee that
was involved in the harmonisation of the bill asserted that 20
illegal clauses were inserted in the bill.

The lawmaker, who was former Deputy Chairman of the House
Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), condemned the three percent
allocation to oil-producing communities by the Senate, which he
said was “unfortunate and ridiculous.”

He took a swipe at the 30 per cent clause in the Petroleum
Industry Bill (PIB) designated for ‘frontier exploration’, which he
said was an invitation to corruption, and remained
unacceptable.

Speaking on Arise Morning Show, the flagship programme of Arise
News channels, Gbillah alleged that the Senate inserted 20 clauses
that were not originally part of the bill in the Senate version
which was passed into law.

According to him, “Obviously, there is an insertion. I can
confirm that about 20 clauses have been inserted and it has been
alleged that it was inserted from the Senate version. I want to say
that we are at a point in the country where you should not be
playing politics with this issue in this country.

“I wonder why people think that they are going to stay in power
in perpetuation. Tomorrow, it will be somebody else, so we need to
leave a legacy for our country.

“The world is moving forward, and we are still deliberating on
electronic transmission, when it is a forgone issue in other
nations.”

The lawmaker maintained that: “We in the opposition are
insisting that the issue of electronic transmission is sacrosanct,
and we suspect that those insertions were intentional and
premeditated so that the Electoral Act will be contentious, and
won’t be passed so that in the upcoming elections, the ability to
rig and manipulate the result of the election will be
impossible.”

On the three percent allocation to the oil producing communities
and 30 per cent provision for frontier exploration in the PIB Act
passed by the National Assembly to which Niger Delta state
governors have objected, Gbillah said the percentage to the host
communities was ridiculous while the provision for frontier
exploration was an invitation to corruption.

He said: “I don’t believe there is a conspiracy by northern
members of the National Assembly against lawmakers from the South,
but very clearly, there is a concern about the issue of resource
allocation and specifically the management of our oil resources as
enshrined in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).”

On the position of the Southern governors on power shift, he
said they are in support of the agitation, adding that: “With
regards to southern presidency, I do not believe that it is
something out of place.

“It is not a gang up; it is the proper articulation of the
yearnings of the people of Southern Nigeria.

“We completely identify with the Southern governors, and we
believe that it is the way to go.”