The national assembly joint committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has recommended voting right for married underage girls to the electoral commission.
The national assembly joint panel made the recommendation to a technical committee which will work on the new electoral act proposed by the federal lawmakers, even though the constitution currently places the eligible age for voting at 18.
This came two weeks ago after some stakeholders made a similar recommendation. Kabiru Gaya, Chairman of the senate committee on INEC, who spoke at the inauguration of the technical committee in Abuja, said the recommendation is a unanimous decision by the joint panel.
“The joint committee has proposed that if a lady who is not up to 18 years is married, she should be considered to be mature enough and be eligible to vote,” he said