INEC- Seanate adds one week for voters registration.

For the third time in one year, the Senate has amended the Electoral Act, this time to reflect a request by the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC], for time extension to complete the on-going voters' registration exercise.

The amendment followed a motion moved by the Deputy Leader of the Senate, Senator Ndoma Egba; seeking for the amendment of section 9(5) of the extant laws, thereby reducing the date within which INEC should complete the voters registration and publish the voters register from 60 days to 50 days before the start of the general election.

According to him, the amendment has become inevitable due to the serious setback experienced in the registration exercise; Egba noted that three days into to the exercise, only about 40% of eligible voters had been registered, thereby denying a majority of Nigerians of their right.

The bill got an overwhelming support from lawmakers, however the Deputy Senate President persuaded his colleagues to reduce it to 30 days as has been amended by the House of Representatives.

Earlier, Jega who was summoned to by the Senate Tuesday following mounting complaints and complexities confronting the voter registration told the Senators that from INEC's projection, one week from the January 29 to February 5 would be sufficient to complete the exercise.

"From our own projection as I speak with you now sir, if the electoral act is properly amended, we believe that if we have an extension of one week from the 29th to the 5th of February, God willing we will be able to register every register-able Nigerian. The constraints we have as the provision of the electoral act stands now, is that we have to finish all registrations latest 60 days to the election which is latest by the second week of February.