Doing the needful for INEC
BY the announcement yesterday of Professor Mahmood Yakubu as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Federal Government has done the needful to insulate the activities of the electoral umpire from litigations that could throw spanner into its works.
Yakubu takes over the headship of INEC from Mrs. Amina Zakari who had been acting in that capacity, albeit controversially since the tenure of Professor Attahiru Jega lapsed just after this year’s general elections.
The arguments against the legality of INEC conducting an acceptable exercise has been on especially since the commission has the immediate job of organizing governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states, which have been scheduled for November 21 and December 5 respectively.
Elucidating the legal impediments against INEC as constituted under Zakari, Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said the body couldn’t have organized a legally acceptable election without a substantive Chairman and the required number of commissioners representing the geo-political zones of the country.
In a statement, Falana who argued that the umpire had no power to fix the dates for the two elections said, ““In other words, as the INEC is not validly constituted as required by section 159 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, its decisions are liable to be set aside.
“Even when the INEC was constituted by a chairman and three other national commissioners in 2010, the Federal High Court held that the electoral body was not competent to take any decision.”
He argued further that if INEC under Zakari and the unacceptable number of commissioners had conducted any election, the results could be declared null and void.
In accordance with Section 154 (1) and (2) of the Nigerian Constitution which recommends that the President “shall consult the council of State” on the appointment of the INEC Chairman, the council ratified Yakubu’s appointment at its meeting yesterday.
The constitution states further that the appointment shall also “be subject to the confirmation by the Senate” which, considering the closeness of the Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections, could be done within the next few weeks.
Yakubu’s appointment is in line with the contemporary history of INEC, which seems to have been in favour of renowned academics as its chairman as he became the third in an unbroken line of Professors heading the commission.
Although Nigeria’s electoral body was firmly in the hands of chairmen drawn from the Judiciary in the early years, the emergence of Professor Eme Awa, a Professor of Political Science as the chairman between 1987 and 1989, began the reign of the academics that continued with Professors Henry Nwosu (1989-1993) and Okon Uya (1993-1994).
The line of academics as Chairmen was broken in 1994 with the return to judicial officers when Justice Sumner Dagogo-Jack headed the body till 1998 and the tradition continued with Justices Ephraim Akpata (1998-1999).
The tenure of Dr. Abel Guobadia (2000-2005) brought back the academics into the saddle of INEC. Professor Maurice Iwu (2005-2010) who handed over to Jega, an academic activist who was once National Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), succeeded Guobadia.
The appointment of Yakubu, former Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Tax Fund (TETFund) and professor of History and International Studies, who is said to be the only First Class graduate of History in the North so far and an expert in guerilla warfare, terrorism and counter-terrorism, was complemented with the full constitution of INEC.
Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, who announced the Council of State confirmation of Yakubu, disclosed further that other national commissioners were also appointed.
According to him, they are Zakari, who now represents the North West, Dr. Anthonia Okoosi-Simbine (North Central), Alhaji Baba Shettima Arfo (North East), Dr. Mohammed Mustafa Lecky (South South) and Mr. Soyebi Adedeji Solomon (South West). The South East is said to still have a sitting national commissioner.
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1 Comments
I do hope there is the balance of commissioners between the South and North i.e. three commissioners each.
We will review and take appropriate action.