The Nigerian Senate has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to employ all administrative means possible to ensure that internally displaced persons exercise their rights to vote in the 2015 general elections.
At plenary on Tuesday, a federal lawmaker, Senator Ali Ndume, moved a motion that sought the amendment of the 2010 Electoral Act to ensure that internally displaced persons were not disenfranchised.
The lawmaker drew the attention of the Senate to the possible disenfranchisement of internally displaced persons.
Although some lawmakers supported the call for internally displaced persons to exercise their right to vote, they rejected the amendment of the Electoral Act.
The Senate consequently asked INEC to make use of every administrative means possible to ensure that internally displaced persons exercise their rights to vote in the 2015 general elections.
However, some lawmakers are worried that their colleagues from Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States may not be able to go to their constituencies and campaign for the upcoming elections because of the level of insecurity in these states.
Attacks on communities and public places in the north-east region have left many persons displaced, with a large number of them migrating to other part of the country.
The Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, had pledged his administration’s commitment to ensuring that every state in Nigeria took part in the 2015 general elections.
