Dr. Brian Reuben, the Africa Economic Summit Group’s (AESG) chief executive officer, has urged Nigerians to be able to cast ballots because of their democratic inequities.
This was made known on Wednesday during the Morning Brief, a morning program on Channels Television.
More than $20 billion is currently expended by Nigerians, which he described as being more than the Gross Domestic Product of some African nations, out of the total number of Nigerians living abroad.
He noted that while voting in federal elections is not possible for Nigerians in the Diaspora, they still invest in businesses, mentor new businesses, and act as informal ambassadors.
This is a “democracy deficit,” not just a policy gap. He said that many Nigerians who have a stake in our future have been silent because they have never committed crime but simply because of geography.
READ ALSO: 2027 Polls: Situation Room Calls For Quickly Passage Of Pending Reforms
He argued that the democracy of Nigeria is undermined by excluding people based on location, arguing that diaspora voting is a strategic imperative and a fundamental human right.
Dr. Reuben claimed that studies have demonstrated how politically transforming and technically feasible voting is abroad is in countries like Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa.
In the House of Representatives’ late November 2024, a bill to amend the constitution and allow for diaspora voting took the form of a second reading. The bill, which was cosponsored by Speakers Abbas Tajudeen and Sodeeq Abdullahi, seeks to amend the 2022 Electoral Act and has been referred to the Constitution Amendment Committee for further legislative action.
Diaspora voting will be introduced as part of the proposed electoral reforms in 2025, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Watch the video below:
Source: Channels TV
Leave a Reply