Prior to the appointment
of the then firebrand university teacher Professor Attahiru Jega as the
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the public
image of this body had nosedived just as majority of Nigerians viewed that
institution as one of the most fatally corrupt public institution next to the
discredited Nigerian Police Force.
The nomination by
President Goodluck Jonathan of the boss of the electoral commission and his
confirmation only few years back, was greeted with unrestrained optimism from
critical segments of the Nigerian society who felt then that the media
generated larger-than-life image of the erstwhile national president of the
'progressive –minded' Academic staff Union of Universities (ASUU) would impact
positively on the electoral commission.
Recall that
Attahiru Jega led the Academic staff union of Nigerian Universities during the
infamous military contraption of a regime under the dictator-turned self made
military President-General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida [rtd] and the union was
on record to have waged relentless industrial war against the military elements
who neglected the funding of the nation’s universities to an all time low.
Abacha later emerged as the successor to the military tyrant-General IBB and
dragged the administration of Nigerian Universities to the mud of infamy with
the appointment of serving military Generals as Vice Chancellors of Federal
Universities. Even ivory towers like the Ahmadu Bello University and the
University of Nigeria Nsukka were desecrated by the then late General Sani
Abacha-headed military contraption. ASUU went to the trenches to battle these
military gangs to a standstill.
About two years
since this former radical university teacher was elevated to the position of
chairman of the electoral commission, several botched and heavily compromised
elections have been conducted whose outcome ended up been jettisoned by the
competent election petition tribunals with damaging verdicts against the
conduct of such elections marred by irregularities.
It is also on record that Attahiru Jega
rolled out series of programs aimed at bringing about sanity in the conduct of
elections even as his leadership severally told Nigerians that the era of
electoral crimes and impunity were over but months after these series of
propaganda it is clear to even innocent toddlers that no significant
electoral regime change for the better has happened under Professor Jega's
watch.
Instead,
politicians have devised better and much more opaque ways and strategies of
manipulating the outcome of elections in active partnership with some rogue
officials of the electoral panel. Till date, no ‘bigman’ in INEC has been
prosecuted for the monumental frauds that led to the nullification of several
election results.
After the 2011
elections which was relatively adjudged freer than most elections, the
electoral commission promised to bring to trial all arrested and indicted
officials and registered voters accused of committing one infraction or the
other just as the electoral panel stated that it has compiled a record of
electoral offenders.
As I write, it is
not on record that any electoral offender is behind bars for the offences
committed before, during and immediately after the conduct of the 2011
election. Again, and sadly enough, no official of INEC has been prosecuted for
the electoral atrocities that characterized aspects of the 2011 general
elections.
Aside apparent
failure to introduce any workable reforms within the rank and file of the
officials of INEC, Professor Jega not long ago committed a major blunder
or [ hara-kiri] when out of the blues he announced the deregistration of
over two dozen political parties for partly failing to win any seat in all the
elections conducted since 2011 general elections.
But I ask – why
take dictatorial decision of choking up the political and democratic space
through military – styled deregistration when the electoral commission failed
to check excess pre-election campaign expenses of those few political parties
in government that used their influence to get contractors to bankroll the 2011
general election campaign for these parties to the clear detriment of the
weaker political parties now being witch hunted by INEC?
A situation whereby
ruling parties at the center and the various federating units used their
political might to convert public fund to campaign for re-election in the 2011
election without INEC wielding the big stick in line with extant statutory
electoral provisions, the same agency cannot at the same time be seen flogging
out of existence those marginal and ‘powerless’ political parties who have no
political area of conquest from which to deep their hands to enrich their
campaign fund with filthy lucre .
When INEC announced
this deregistration, some of us denounced the action but Professor Jega
maintained his unpopular and undemocratic stand as if to say 'IAM-HOLIER
-THAN-THOU'.
Jega instead
insisted that the act of infamy of deregistering weak political parties was in
line with powers conferred on it by the Nigerian law. Interestingly, the ruling
parties who have used their intimidating financial muscles to muzzle out other
lesser political parties, praised the electoral commission to high heavens and
the officials of INEC grinned from both sides of their mouths.
According to a statement
signed by the then commission’s Secretary Alhaji Abdulahi Kaugama and made
available to journalists, INEC said the action was in exercise of its powers
conferred on it pursuant to the I999 Constitution (as amended) and the
Electoral Act 2010.
The statement read: “In
the exercise of the powers conferred on it by the 1999 Constitution (as
amended) and the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), the Independent National
Electoral Commission has today, Thursday, December 6, 2012, de-registered the
following political parties: African Liberation Party (ALP); Action Party of
Nigeria (APN); African Political System (APS); Better Nigeria Progressive Party
(BNPP); Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) and Community Party of Nigeria
(CPN).
Other political parties
de-registered include: Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA); Freedom Party of
Nigeria (FPN); Fresh Democratic Party (FDP); Hope Democratic Party (HDP);
Justice Party (JP); Liberal Democratic Party of Nigeria (LDPN); Movement for
Democracy and Justice (MDJ) and Movement for the Restoration and Defence of
Democracy (MRDD).
Others are: Nigeria
Advanced Party (NAP); New Democrats (ND); National Majority Democratic Party
(NMDP); National Movement of Progressive Party (NMPP); National Reformation
Party (NRP); National Solidarity Democratic Party (NSDP); Progressive Action
Congress (PAC); Peoples Mandate Party (PMP); Peoples Progressive Party (PPP);
Peoples Redemption Party (PRP); Peoples Salvation Party (PSP); Republican Party
of Nigeria (RPN); United National Party for Development (UNPD) and United Nigeria
Peoples Party (UNPP).
“The commission
hereby reiterates its commitment to relating with political parties in
accordance with extant laws and for the benefit of our electoral democracy.”
Those political
parties affected by this apparent unpopular decision of INEC headed to the
court of law to seek redress in compliance with section 6 of the constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 (as amended).
On Monday 29th July 2013,
the Federal High Court, Abuja division gave a good verdict voiding the infamous
action of Jega-led INEC.
This spectacular judgment
of the Federal High Court has effectively derobed this once larger-than-life
'big masquerade' whose beautifully qualitative professional antecedents won him
several accolades upon his elevation by President Jonathan to mount the mantle
of INEC chairmanship.
The court, presided over
by Justice Gabriel Kolawole, also declared section 78 (7) (ii) of the Electoral
Act 2010, as amended, which stipulates that political parties must win
seats during state and National Assembly
elections, as null and void.
INEC had while
announcing the deregistration of the 28 parties on December 6, 2012
reportedly predicated its action on the section and the 1999
Constitution.
It is on record
that one of the deregistered parties, Fresh Democratic Party, and its
presidential candidate in 2011, Rev. Chris
Okotie, challenged the action at the Abuja FHC. They argued that
it breached their fundamental rights as guaranteed by the 1999
Constitution.
INEC, the
Attorney-General of the Federation, the National Assembly and the
Inspector-General of Police were listed as defendants in the suit in which the
plaintiffs asked the court to make a declaration that the electoral
body lacked the power to deregister the FDP except in
accordance with the provisions of the constitution.
Another relief sought by
the plaintiffs in the suit filed by Fred Agbaje, was a
declaration that section 78 (7) (ii) of the Electoral Act, 2010 as
amended, was unconstitutional, invalid, null and void to the extent
that it breached the provisions of section 40 as well as
sections 221 to 229 of the constitution.
They also asked the court
to declare that the purported reliance by INEC on section 78 (7) (ii) of
the said Electoral Act in deregistering FDP violated the
provisions of sections 36, 38 and 40, as well as sections 221 to 222 of the
constitution.
In his judgment, Justice
Kolawole noted that those who drafted the 1999 Constitution did not contemplate
deregistration of political parties.
He upbraided the National
Assembly for its inexplicable decision to introduce the provisions in
section 78 (7) (ii) of the Electoral Act as an instrument for the
deregistration of political parties.
The judge described the
provisions as legislative arbitrariness and mischief, noting that
they could encourage a win-at-all-cost mentality by the
political parties.
The judge held that
while the National Assembly has the power to make laws, it has no power to
“smuggle in” a provision that a political party which fails to win seats in
state and National Assembly elections should be deregistered.
He also held that INEC should have
given the FDP a hearing before going ahead to deregister it.
Kolawole said, “INEC would not have
lost anything by issuing the 1st plaintiff (FDP) with a query to enhance the
integrity of its decision. The statutory powers conferred on the 1st defendant
(INEC) can be described as ministerial but when such power concerns
deregistration of a political party, it becomes a quasi judicial power
because after registration, a political party becomes a legal entity and
acquires a legal right and you cannot take away such legal
right without according the political party a hearing.”
Concluding, he
said, “Section 78 (7) (ii) of the Electoral Act 2010, as amended, is hereby
declared null and void, in so far as the 1st plaintiff (FDP) was not heard
before the decision was taken. The said decision is null and void.
“The 1st defendant’s decision dated
December 6, 2012 is declared invalid and is set aside.”
The presiding judge
refused to grant the plaintiffs’ prayer that the court should order the
defendants to pay them N10m as compensatory damages.
As the court rose, INEC
signified its intention to appeal the verdict, saying three earlier
judgments validated the deregistration of the parties.
“INEC is appealing the judgment. Don’t
forget that there have been three previous judgments affirming the correctness
of our action.
“This fourth judgment is different and it
will be appealed,” said Kayode Idowu, Chief Press
Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega.
One of the affected
political parties, the Peoples Salvation Party, welcomed the court’s
decision in its own reaction.
It said the judgment would make the
electoral body to realise that it must operate within the confines of the law.
INEC had better not waste public fund to
embark on another miserably meaningless voyage of discovery in a futile attempt
to get the appellate court to rule that it was just for a creation of the
constitution like INEC to flagrantly abuse the Constitutionally protected
fundamental right to association based on the now discredited section of the
electoral Act which was smuggled in by the anti-democratic forces in the
National Assembly.
As Oprah Winfrey would
wisely say; “real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s
going to know whether you did it or not”.
INEC should leave the smaller political
parties alone; resist attempt to stifle growth of democracy but instead should
introduce policies to restore credibility to this badly dented commission so as
to meet the overwhelming wishes of Nigerians to see reforms and positive
changes introduced by the once feared trade unionist-Professor Attahiru Jega
and his management team.
* Emmanuel Onwubiko; Head; HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION
OF NIGERIA; blogs@www.huriwa.blogspot.com;
www.huriwa.org.
30/7/2013
No comments:
Post a Comment