Delegates at the ongoing National Conference yesterday voted in favour of Nigerians in the diaspora to exercise their voting rights and participate in elections.
The Committee on Foreign Policy and Diaspora Matters had said in its report that the provisions of section 13(1) C of the Electoral Act 2096 as amended and sections 77(2) and 117(2) of the Constitution, which provides that only citizens present in Nigeria at the time of registration of voters can register and vote in any elections has disenfranchised millions of Nigerians living abroad.
The committee thus recommended that the Electoral Act be amended to provide for diaspora voting rights so that Nigerians living abroad who are not less than 18 years before an election be allowed to register and vote.
It further recommended that proper arrangement should be made before its implementation to ensure that the process is not abused.
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