Countdown to Yakubu’s Successor: Why president should not appoint INEC Chairman

… 37 ways to betterment Nigeria’s electoral process

•Yiaga Africa, The Kukah Centre, IPC, PLAC, 14 others unveil ‘Citizens Memo’

By Nnamdi Ojiego

Should the president proceed to name the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and, by truthful doing, exert what critics telephone undue interference connected the nation’s electoral strategy successful favour of the ruling enactment and to the detriment of the opposition?

That is the question acrophobic stakeholders are attempting to reply arsenic the tenure of the incumbent INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, and immoderate National Commissioners of the electoral assemblage expires successful November, and indispensable beryllium replaced up of the 2027 polls.

Some stakeholders accidental the existent process is flawed and are campaigning for the strengthening of the independency and professionalism of INEC to guarantee credible elections and animate nationalist spot successful the electoral process.

Specifically the stakeholders privation the Constitution amended to region the powerfulness to name the INEC Chairman, National Commissioners and Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) from the president and present a multi-stakeholder attack to appointments into INEC.

“The scope of consultations should grow beyond the Council of State to different captious stakeholders similar traditional, and spiritual institutions including civilian nine (Relevant Sections of the Constitution – S 154, 158 and Section 14, Part F of the Third Schedule)”, the stakeholders (partners), including Yiaga Africa, The Kukah Centre, PLAC, and the International Press Centre (IPC), and 12 others, said during a roundtable during which they unveiled a document, titled, Citizens Memorandum for Reform of the Electoral Legal Framework, successful Abuja past week.

The document, successful 2 parts, lists 37 recommendations connected reforming the electoral process and appointments into the enactment of INEC is lone 1 of them.

“The Citizens memo contains 37 recommendations crossed 15 strategical objectives and code 16 precedence betterment areas. Part 1 contains 21 recommendations for law amendments portion Part 11 proposes 16 amendments to the 2022 Electoral Act”, the papers says successful its introduction.

Director of Programs for Yiaga Africa, Cynthia Mbamalu, Executive Director of IPC, Mr Lanre Arogundade, Executive Director of Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), Dr Akin Akingbulu, and Senior Lecturer astatine Paul University, Awka, Mr Tony Onyima, made presentations to the assemblage which included elder editors of notable media houses and apical members of the civilian society.

The lawsuit was moderated by Ms Anikeade Funke-Treasure Akintoye.

Emphasizing attitudinal changes among predetermination stakeholders, the ‘Citizens memo’, successful its introduction, added: “While the absorption has often been connected the electoral ineligible framework, the partners admit the necessity of attitudinal changes among each predetermination stakeholders to execute credible, transparent, and inclusive electoral processes”.

The papers past itemizes precedence areas for betterment arsenic follows: INEC independence, ratio and professionalism, unbundling of INEC, electoral offences, predetermination adjudication, Diaspora oregon retired of state voting, peculiar seats, governmental enactment reform, constituency delimitation, and elector accreditation.

Others are elector registry and elector registration, women youths and PWDs governmental information (inclusivity), aboriginal voting, campaigner selection, electoral technology, effect absorption process, and media and elections.

Inside the ‘Citizens memo’:

Part 01

Proposed Constitutional Amendments connected Electoral Reform

Strategic Objectives and Recommendations

01 Strengthen the Independence and professionalism of INEC to guarantee credible elections and animate nationalist spot successful the electoral process.

Recommendations

1.Review the process of appointments into INEC: The Constitution should beryllium amended to region the powerfulness to name the Chairman National Commissioners and Resident Electoral Commissioners from the President and present a multi-stakeholder attack to appointments into INEC. The scope of consultations should grow beyond the Council of State to different captious stakeholders similar accepted and spiritual institutions including civilian society.

(Relevant sections of the constitution – S 154, 158 and Section 14, Pa...