The House reports that 3.8 million, or 40.8%, of the total number of newly registered voters are students.
In order for students to fully participate in the upcoming general elections, the House of Representatives has asked the federal government to shut down tertiary educational institutions.
The House asked the Federal Ministry of Education, the National Universities Commission, the National Board for Technical Education, the National Commission for Colleges of Education, and all other tertiary institutions to stop teaching during the election season.
According to a lower chamber resolution (PVC), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was directed to make special provisions for students to receive Permanent Voters Cards.
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Following the approval of a motion made on Thursday at plenary by Ibrahim Tukura (APC, Kebbi), these resolutions were passed.
On February 25, elections will be held for the National Assembly and the president. On March 11, elections will be held for the governor and the Houses of Assembly.
Students make up 3.8 million newly registered voters, or 40.8% of all newly registered voters, according to Tukura, the motion’s proposer.
“These students, who make up 40.8% of the newly registered voters, will have to leave their campuses to vote in the 2023 elections because their polling places are in states other than where they go to school,” he said.
Tukura claims that students are also impacted by how PVCs are distributed. He argued in favor of a unique PVC collection for pupils as a result.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission is involved in distributing PVCs at the wards across the 774 local government areas of the federation, which deprives students of the opportunity to collect their PVCs,” he added. “The students are busy with academic activities.”
So, the House told the Tertiary Education and Electoral Matters Committees to work with the groups to simplify the process and report back to the House within a week.
The MPs overwhelmingly backed the measure when Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila questioned it.
