[NIGERIA] Diaspora voting possible if NASS supports it – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari said on Tuesday that he was not against the right of Nigerians in the Diaspora participating during elections by voting.

However, he noted that it was the National Assembly that should pass the relevant laws to give legal backing to Diaspora voting.

The President spoke in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during a meeting with the Executive Committee members of the Nigerian Community in Ethiopia.

The NICE members were led by David Omozuafoh to the interface, which was organized by the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa.

Buhari said, ”I have said it severally that I am not against it (Diaspora voting). However, you will need to convince the National Assembly to amend the relevant laws to make Diaspora voting a reality.”

The Electoral Act has no provision for Diaspora voting, though the Independent National Electoral Commission claimed it has the capacity to conduct elections simultaneously in Nigeria and in the Diaspora.

The State House said in a statement by Buhari’s media aide, Garba Shehu, that the President also declared at the meeting that his regime was “fully determined to combat and defeat all acts of criminality, banditry and terrorism in the country”.

He added that his primary duty remained to secure the lives and property of Nigerians, whether they lived at home or outside the country.