Daily Watch – Differing tunes as Senate, Reps disagree on electronic vote transmission, COVID-29 robs 23 million children of routine vaccinations
16th July 2021
The Senate on Thursday finally passed the long-awaited Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021. The upper house during clause-by-clause consideration of the bill also approved the electronic transmission of results during elections, provided that such areas are adjudged by the National Communications Commission to be adequately covered under its national coverage and approved by the National Assembly. The Committee in its recommendation initially prescribed that “The Commission may transmit results of elections by electronic means where and when practicable.” This, however, was amended by the Deputy Whip, Senator Sabi Abdullahi (APC – Niger North) to read, “The Commission may consider the electronic transmission of results, provided the national coverage is adjudged to be adequate and secure by the National Communications Commission and approved by the National Assembly.” Senators Sabi Abdullahi and Ali Ndume (APC- Borno South) argued that the blanket recommendation by the Committee for electronic transmission of results in all parts of the country would deprive Nigerians residents in areas with weak or no network coverage from participating in the electoral process. However, lawmakers such as Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP – Abia-South), Thompson Sekibo (PDP – Rivers East) and Albert Bassey (PDP – Akwa Ibom North-East), who belong to the opposition disagreed with Abdullahi and Ndume, insisting that the previous recommendation be retained. Bassey’s counter amendment, which insisted for retention of the Committee’s recommendation as captured in clause 52 sub-clause 3, nevertheless suffered rejection when put to a voice vote by the Senate President. Out of a total of 80 Senators present, 52 voted for the retention of the ‘Sabi Abdullahi Amendment’, while 28 who belonged to the PDP voted for the ‘Bassey Amendment’. The other 28 Senators that make up the 108 in the upper chamber, excluding the Senate President, were absent during plenary. After the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, Senate President Ahmad Lawan (APC – Yobe North), in his remarks said, “We have achieved what we have set for ourselves because of our commitment. “We would all recall that at the beginning of the Ninth Senate, we resolved to have a legislative agenda. [And] in our legislative agenda, the Petroleum Industry Bill and amendment of the Electoral Act 2010, are pillars of what we have set for ourselves to do. Today, we have achieved those two issues.” After a six-hour session, the Senate suspended plenary for nine weeks to enable lawmakers to proceed on their annual recess. Lawmakers will resume on 14 September.
The House of Representatives was thrown into chaos on Thursday over the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021. While the clause-by-clause analysis of the bill was being considered at the “committee of the whole”, Deputy Minority Leader Toby Okechukwu (PDP, Enugu – Aninri, Awgu & Oji-River Federal Constituency) moved a motion that clause 52(3) of the bill be amended. Mr Okechukwu proposed that “transmission of election results shall be done electronically”. When the motion was put to a voice vote, the “ayes” were louder than the “nays” but Deputy Speaker Ahmed Wase (APC, Plateau – Wase Federal Constituency) ruled in favour of the “nays”. A fierce argument, however, ensued, while some lawmakers approached the cubicle where Mr Wase was seated. When relative calm returned, Mr Wase said the lawmakers approached his seat to insult him. “We have legal rights to canvas issues and lobby each other. I take exception to those who came here to insult me,” he said. As the proceeding continued, James Faleke (APC, Lagos – Ikeja Federal Constituency) moved another amendment that “election results may be transmitted both electronically and manually.” But Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers – Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency) argued that there is a substantive motion which is yet to receive any ruling. Chinda moved a motion that the house should resort to a “division” and conduct a headcount, but his motion was rejected as the lawmakers shouted to interrupt him. In an effort to maintain calm, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila (APC, Lagos – Surulere I Federal Constituency) said more amendments should be taken. He added that the chairman was yet to rule on clause 52, noting that the amendment by Faleke is consistent. When the amendment by Faleke was put to a voice vote, the “ayes” were again louder than the “nays”, but Wase said the “nays had it”. Subsequently, the House reverted to plenary, and Wase reported what transpired at the “committee of the whole”. When he mentioned that the report on the bill was considered up till clause 52, the lawmakers shouted “no” persistently. At this point, Gbajabiamila took over the session and ruled that the sitting be adjourned till Friday at 10am.
The Nigerian Communications Commission says it will auction the Fifth Generation Technology (5G) spectrum by the Q4. Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, disclosed this at the maiden International Conference on Information and Engineering Systems on Thursday at Nile University, Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria reported that Danbatta, represented by NCC Director of Technical Standards, Mr Bako Wakil, said the government was committed to a seamless process of allocating, auctioning, assigning and commercialising the 5G spectrum. “The government will provide an enabling environment for 5G deployment, but the MNOs will determine their own deployment strategies, subject to alignment with approved policies and other regulatory instruments in force. “Securing spectrum for 5G is an antecedent for any operator to commit serious investment to 5G infrastructure. This makes it imperative for the spectrum allocation and assignment process to be concluded as early as possible. The following timeline is proposed as optimal in the policy document 5G Spectrum Allocation (Q2 2021), 5G Spectrum Auction (Q4 2021), 5G Spectrum Assignment (Q1 2022), and Commercialisation of 5G Spectrum (Q4 2022).” The EVC, who spoke on the topic “5G Deployment: Catalyst for Digital Transformation in Nigeria,” noted that research and tests had been carried out on the hazardous impact of electromagnetic emissions from 5G and that they were far below the minimum required standard.
Nearly 23 million children missed out on routine vaccinations last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the highest number in more than a decade, fuelling outbreaks of measles, polio and other preventable diseases, U.N. agencies said on Thursday. Measles, one of the world’s most contagious diseases, can be fatal to children under the age of five, especially in African and Asian countries with weak health systems, according to the World Health Organization. Polio can cripple a child for life. The gap in global vaccination coverage has set up a “perfect storm”, leaving more children vulnerable to infectious pathogens just as many countries ease COVID-19 restrictions, the WHO and U.N. Children’s Fund said in an annual report. Ten countries, led by India and Nigeria, account for the bulk of the 22.7 million children left unvaccinated or under-vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) in 2020 – 3.7 million more than in 2019 and the most since 2009, it said regarding a key indicator of childhood vaccination rates. “Large and disruptive” outbreaks of measles have been recorded in hotspots including Afghanistan, Mali, Somalia and Yemen, the report added. Some 22.3 million children missed their first dose of measles vaccine last year – although there was probably substantial overlap with those lacking DTP coverage – for the lowest coverage against the killer disease since 2010, it said. “The COVID-19 pandemic has led to major backsliding on childhood vaccination, taking us back more than a decade,” Kate O’Brien, WHO director of immunisation, told a news briefing. There has been an “alarming increase” in “zero dose” children – those missing out on any vaccination – which rose to 17.1 million last year from 13.6 million, said Ephrem Lemango, UNICEF chief of immunisation. Many live in war-torn countries or slums, he said. Sixty-six countries postponed at least one immunisation campaign against preventable diseases, although some including Mexico have begun catch-up programmes, the report said.