INEC and Judiciary to be independent as Nigeria to strip president of power over them
In recent years, eyebrows, from various quarters, have been raised over president’s inference in decision making of the Judiciary and Independent Electoral Commission (INEC).
And calls had been made from well-meaning Nigerians that powers and responsibility to appoint the heads of INEC and the Judiciary should not be saddled to the president.
It can be recalled that, in October a new national coalition, Save Democracy Mega Alliance 2027 (SDMA’27), clamored that the Nigeria’s constitution should be amended to de-accommodate President’s authority over the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and also the state governors’ power over the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIECs)−a move welcomed by a large number of Nigerians.
It is understood that the group is also clamoring amendment to the constitution which would eradicate president’s power over the judiciary, especially in the appointment of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) as well as that of Chief Judge of State as regard state governors.
The rationale behind this call is with the power and influence of the executive in the appointment and decision making, both the electoral body and the judiciary cannot be said to be independent.
Without laying off the president’s and the state governors’ power and authority over the two bodies, manipulations, malpractices and perversion of justice will persist because he who plays the piper dictates its tune.
The coalition also posited that removing the president’s and governors’ powers will deter executive influence in the electoral and judicial matters.
At a briefing in Abuja, Tony Akeni Le Moin, the spokesperson of the coalition, said the coalition is looking to formally launch the campaign across all thirty-six stated, plus Abuja, the FCT.
He based SDMA’27’s focus on two major constitutional amendments; stripping the president and governors of the responsibility to appoint INEC, SIEC and the heads of the judiciary, and transferring the responsibilities to a group of non-partisan and integrity-laden individuals.
The coalition has earned support of prominent leaders and dignitaries, and pro-democracy groups across Nigeria. It is also supported by renowned political economist Pat Utomi.
Professor Utomi described the clamour as an important milestone for Nigeria’s democracy since 1999, referencing Justice Uwais Electoral Reform report as the most befitting start point.
According to Utomi, the report also put forward executive appointment reform for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the judiciary, as protecting both institutions from excessive executive influence and will aid fair elections and enhance good governance.
The coalition highlighted three agenda: mobilizing national consensus across political, religious and civil society networks to bring about unanimous need for constitutional reforms.
The group’s aim is to erect momentum for national conference for formally propose the amendments and to lobby both the national and state assemblies in order to restore the autonomies of INEC and the judiciary.
The move is said to prevent the reoccurrence of post-elections incidence Nigerians experience every four years, with 2023’s still fresh in the memories.
It argued that without the reforms, the 2027 elections would likely experience electoral manipulations as the case was in the past.
Rev. Martin Luther King Jnr.’s words were referenced “organised resistance” as the group implored all Nigerians to prepare for, what is described as, “National Emergency” in bid to reinstate Nigeria’s democracy.
Also in attendance, the President of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) Dr. Pogu Bitrus, who stated that it is not necessarily about who to appoint, but most consequential, about who fires.
He said that in addition to who fires, the institution must be empowered so that who appoints or fires does not really matter but as a person who would always be guided and checkmated by the strong institutions in place.
According to him: “The truth about the matter in Nigeria is not even about who appoints the head of the electoral body or the judiciary, but who fires who. Yes, who fires who matters to some extent.
“If the president can appoint but he has no powers to fire or to remove, that might solve the problem.
“It is the fear of being fired if you not do what they want that makes them do what they do rather than just because you appoint them, because even if you appoint somebody and you don’t grease his elbows and he doesn’t fear that if he doesn’t do what you want he might be fired, then he will not be obliged to do what you want him to do.
INEC And Judiciary To Be Independent
“So, it doesn’t necessarily matter who appoints who but who fires who.
“Secondly, the institution has to be strengthened to the level that people will even fear to do the wrong thing.
“For instance, in China, they have a rule that one can lose his life even in some common things we call gratifications here, not to even talk of the real bribery.
“If judges, INEC boss or any other person knows that if he does the wrong thing and it is traced that he can lose his life, he will not compromise, no matter the amount of money that is involved.
“That checks and balances can keep them away from doing the wrong thing and force them to do the right thing.
“So, it is not who appoints or who fires but as I said that who fires and the laws have to be strengthened such that the checks and balances are so stringent.
“And that if you do wrong, you know you could lose your life and all your families will be obliterated, so you will not do it.
“So, I think these are the things we need to introduce into the law, rather than who appoints and who doesn’t appoint.
“And then, we can strengthen the law to go beyond that, by saying that even the person who influenced them to do the wrong thing should equally be treated the way the offenders are treated.
“That way, we can ensure that things are done rightly. You know the problem is not that we don’t have laws on the ground.
“As I am talking, there are laws on the ground that I believe have checks and balances in this regard, but the institutions are weak; and because they are weak, these laws don’t mean a lot.
“So, we should know how to strengthen the institutions, whether it is INEC, the police, the military or the judiciary, so that they can be independent. They can have real probity, accountability and then a respect of law will come in.
“We have already messed the system up and it would require these draconian rules and laws to be able to do the right thing again.”
President of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYFC) Alhaji Yerima Shettima, in his submission, expressed doubt and concern over setting up an autonomous body to oversee such appointments.
He noted that the system has long been centralised that giving autonomy to proposed separate bodies might be too difficult due to that fact that the president is also the commander in chief who wields enormous power to executive anything.
INEC And Judiciary To Be Independent
“The problem is with the independent body. How can you talk about independence when you have a system that is already centralized?
“And that is why I am an advocate of decentralization. Who is independent now in the country?
“Now, specifically, you are talking about the appointment of the INEC chairman which is the one that is expected to go through screening and be nominated by the NASS.
“That is what I am getting from other quarters but the fact still remains that we still have the commander in chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who oversees everything.”
He also questioned the capacity of the present National Assembly (NASS) to strip the President of such powers.
He pointed at the rubber stamp nature of the NASS to corroborate his claim.
According to his statement, “stripping the president of the powers to appoint the INEC chairman or the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, cannot happen under the watch of the current NASS that I know of.
“The current NASS is a total rubber stamp and they can’t do anything. So, I don’t even want to waste my energy by saying I believe or assume that anything like that will ever happen.
“Maybe in the future that will be done but not now.”
He also stressed the need for strong institution to be put in place as it would serve as a panacea to current challenges faced by Nigeria.
He, then, proposed that instead of any persons or groups pushing to strip the president of such powers, they should unite to strengthen INEC as an independent institution which would deter it from dancing to the tune of the president or anybody.
INEC And Judiciary To Be Independent
“So, rather than wasting our energy on that; let us see how we can strengthen the institutions. It is not about the independence of the INEC but about strengthening the INEC as an institution.
“There are a lot of reforms that need to be carried out in INEC. If those reforms can be put in place, I think we would have solved most of the problems confronting the INEC and the president will no longer have the capacity to influence the body,” he submitted.
Also speaking at the event was a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Lagos State, Adebayo Fadipe, applauded the move, noting that it would reinstate the integrity of the electoral body.
He pointed that ‘independence,’ as used in prefix of the electoral body’s name, is just a mere cajole as the body is held within the armpit of the president who has the power to hire and fire at will.
He noted that past chairmen of INEC have compromised in delivering fair election results, except only for a few of them who stand out.
“But if the powers are removed from the president and given to an independent body, meaning that the INEC chairman is no longer answerable to the president, I think we will begin to have a semblance of credible election in this country.
“The INEC chairmen have always been under the firm grip of the president who dictates what happens. And the past chairmen including the current one have always danced to the tune of the powers that appointed them and it should not be like that.
“They should be independent and work for the good of all Nigerians and not work for a group of individuals. That is why it has not been possible to have credible elections in Nigeria.
“But, if that is done, then it will open a new chapter of electoral credibility in Nigeria.
“All the manipulations that have come to characterise our electoral jurisprudence will become things of the past and the country can become a reference point for other countries when it comes to conducting credible elections,” he said.
INEC And Judiciary To Be Independent
