The greatest challenge facing Nigeria’s democratic system is the failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission, headed by Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to conduct elections devoid of compromises.
This is the verdict of some lawyers who spoke in Enugu on the bane of Nigeria’s electoral system and the way forward.
Nnadume Offorkansi, a human rights lawyer and leader of the Labour Party in Enugu West district of Enugu State, said the trajectory began since the era of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, adding, however, that the present Yakubu-led INEC had worsened the situation by not being sincere in service delivery.
According to him, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in his second-term bid, declared that it was a do-or-die affair.
He said, “In a civilised clime, he would have been made to account for such an inciting declaration. But he got away with it. Buhari did the same and got free.”
He said the late President Musa Yar’adua acknowledged that the election that brought him to power was flawed, hence his electoral reform, which did not materialise due to his death while in active service.
He said, “Former President Goodluck Jonathan saw the flaws too and introduced the card reader, but it also failed, even to capture Jonathan himself during a presidential election he was contesting.
“INEC, through the Electoral Act, introduced Bivas ahead of the 2023 polls. It would have given us an election to boast of, but INEC chose to truncate it. And the court ruled that it was a rule and not a law.
“With INEC headed by Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, no electoral reform will work in Nigeria.
“To date, nobody has told us the cause of the glitch in the 2023 presidential election so that we can correct it.
“If Nigeria’s electoral handlers are not sincere, nothing good will come out of the country’s electoral system.”
He said for the country’s electoral system to be functional, INEC, the Nigerian electorate, and the judiciary should change for the better.
In his words, “Ghana recently held its presidential election. To date, we are not aware of those that went to court to contest the outcome.
“Donald Trump won in the US. I have not heard of anyone contesting it. This is because of the system. In our case, will the judiciary be allowed to do the right thing?”
A former member of the Enugu State House of Assembly and constitutional lawyer, Chief Nwabueze Ugwu, advised Nigerians to be more politically conscious.
According to him, “Nigerians don’t insist on abiding by the rules of the election.
“They should make sure that stipulated rules are obeyed. It is useless when laws are not obeyed.
“This should be monitored before and after the elections. Because the electorate is not conscious, INEC can do anything and get away with it.
“And our legislators do the worst. They want to enrich themselves. They want contracts to be awarded to them or their cronies.
“Otherwise, when judgements are delivered in courts, it is the mandate of the legislators to ensure that the loopholes identified in courts are blocked through legislation ahead of the next elections.
“Of course, when elections are conducted according to the rules, there will be no need to go to court. But in Nigeria, even council elections are contested at the tribunals because the results always have question marks.”