The House of Representatives has called on the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NABTE), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), and the Ministry of Education to direct all tertiary institutions to suspend academic activities ahead of the 2023 general elections.
This move is aimed at allowing students to travel to their polling units to vote.
The resolution, which was passed at a plenary session on Thursday, was sponsored by Kabir Ibrahim, a lawmaker representing Zuru/Fakai/Danko-Wasagu/Sakaba federal constituency of Kebbi.
Ibrahim stated that over 2.1 million students are currently studying in universities, while over 2.4 million are students in polytechnics, monotechnics, and colleges of education.
He added that the academic calendars of these institutions “do not take into consideration the timelines and date for elections” which makes it difficult for students to participate in the electoral process.
Ibrahim further noted that according to INEC figures, 3.8 million of the newly registered voters are students, accounting for 40.8 percent of the total number of newly registered voters.
He said that these students have their polling units sited in states outside their campuses, requiring them to travel outside their institutions to vote in the 2023 elections.
He also highlighted that while students are busy with academic activities, INEC is engaged in distributing Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) at the wards across the 774 Local Government Areas of the federation, further limiting the chances of students to collect their PVCs, which is a precondition for voting at the polls.
The lawmaker said that INEC has “enormous statutory powers to make special arrangements” for students to collect their PVCs to vote and that the education regulatory authorities have the statutory powers to direct both the public and private tertiary institutions to suspend academic activities pending the conclusion of the general election.
The House of Representatives has mandated its committees on tertiary education and electoral matters to “liaise with the agencies to facilitate the process” and report back within one week.
