Nigerians intensify campaign to strip president of powers over INEC, judiciary
Since last month when a new national coalition, Save Democracy Mega Alliance 2027 (SDMA’27), launched a campaign to amend Nigeria’s constitution to remove the President’s authority over the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and state governors’ power over the State Independent Electoral Commissions, SIECs, quite a number of Nigerians have applauded the move.
The coalition is also pushing for amendment in the constitution to equally remove the president’s powers over the judiciary, particularly in the appointment of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, as well as that of the Chief Judge of State in the case of state governors.
Before the group launched the campaign, there had been calls from several quarters to remove the powers to appoint the heads of the electoral body and judicial arm of the government from the president.
The argument behind the call is that such practice does not guarantee the full independence of both the electoral body and the judiciary because he who pays the piper dictates the tune.
The coalition is also arguing along the same line as it insisted that removing such powers from the president would prevent executive influence in the electoral and judicial systems by transferring the power to appoint heads of the two institutions to a new independent body to be set up thereafter.
Speaking at a briefing in Abuja, recently, the coalition’s spokesperson, Tony Akeni Le Moin, announced that the coalition would formally launch the campaign across all states, culminating in a “boot camp” finale in Abuja.
He tied the SDMA’27’s focus on two main constitutional amendments, stripping the president and governors of their powers to appoint INEC, SIEC, and judiciary heads and transferring these responsibilities to a body of non-partisan and integrity-vetted Nigerians.
The coalition which has been endorsed by prominent leaders and pro-democracy groups across the country, has also garnered support from Professor Pat Utomi, a well-respected political economist.
Utomi, who has described the movement as a significant milestone for Nigeria’s democracy since 1999, equally referenced the Justice Uwais Electoral Reform report as the most appropriate point to start from.
According to him, the report also recommended executive appointment reforms for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the judiciary, as insulating the institutions from executive influence would foster fair elections and improve governance.
The coalition outlined a three-point plan, including mobilising national consensus across political, religious, and civil society networks to create a unified demand for constitutional reforms. The group’s target is to build momentum for a national conference to formally propose the amendments and to lobby both the national and state assemblies to strip the executive of its overbearing influence on the INEC and the judiciary.
The step according to the group is to forestall the reoccurrence of the ugly incident that characterized the 2023 elections in 2027.
It warned that without the reforms, the 2027 elections would likely be a rehearsal of past electoral manipulations.
The group invoked Rev. Martin Luther King Junior’s words on the need for organised resistance, urging Nigerians to prepare for what they described as a “national emergency” to restore Nigeria’s democracy.
Commenting on the development, the president of the Middle Belt Forum, MBF, Dr. Pogu Bitrus said that it is not necessarily about who appoints, but most importantly about who fires.
Ho noted that in addition to who fires, the institution must be strengthened such that who appoints or fires doesn’t matter much as such a person would always be guided and put under check by such a strong institution in place.
He said: “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. 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.”
Also, in his submission, president of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, Alhaji Yerima Shettima expressed doubt about setting up an independent body to oversee such appointments.
He said the system has been so centralized that granting independence to such a separate body might not be possible because the president and commander in chief has enormous powers to do anything.
“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 expressed doubt about the capacity of the current National Assembly, NASS, to strip the president of such powers.
He cited the alleged rubber stamp disposition of the current NASS to buttress his argument.
He said, “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 emphasised the need for strong institutions as the panacea to most of the problems confronting the country at present.
He equally advised that instead of the group or any other person or persons dissipating their energy pushing to strip the president of such power, they should come together and push that INEC as an institution should be strengthened such that it can no longer dance to the whims and caprices of anybody, including the president.
“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, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Lagos State, Adebayo Fadipe, lauded the move, saying it would restore the integrity of the electoral body.
He believes that the name ‘independence,’ as attached to the electoral body’s name, is just a mere whitewash as the body is under the firm control of the President who hires and fires at will.
He also lamented that chairmen of the INEC in the past have all compromised except one or two of them who distinguished themselves creditably.
“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.
