INEC’s incompetency, reason for needless Judicial interventions—Sam Amadi

Forum 1 year ago

INEC’s incompetency, reason for needless Judicial interventions—Sam Amadi

The Director, Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, Nigeria, ASSPT, Dr Sam Amadi, has described the frequent judicial interventions on electoral matters as needless, stating that the foregoing is as a result of the incompetencies shown by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Amadi who stated this during a press briefing, on Thursday, in Abuja, also called on less judicial intervention, stressing that the courts must develop jurisprudence to enable them to revert to the plights of political parties and INEC.

He said that the court must only intervene on issues that are, “judicially manageable and reserve the politically complicated decisions to INEC.”

He said: “The 2023 general election calls for less judicial intervention. We recommend that the courts develop a better jurisprudence that will enable it to revert ultimately to the political bodies, especially to INEC.

“Instead of making the final decisions in these cases, INEC should rather give directions to INEC on what to take into consideration to make a better decision. This will be a more legitimate approach in adjudicating electoral matters. We want to see the court only decide those issues that are more judicially manageable and reserve the politically complicated decisions to INEC.

“But the fear remains that INEC has not grown in its professionalism and integrity to manage these issues. INEC’s failure to be authoritative and procedurally smart as a regulator is one reason the courts are drawn needlessly into a conflicting political arena.

“If INEC becomes more authoritative and transparent in its decision-making, there will be little resort to the courts and where matters come to the courts, they will be more willing to revert it back to INEC to decide with guidelines from the court.

“We want to see INEC take a bold and correct decision in the MC Oluomo and APGA cases. In the case of MC Oluomo, INEC should disengage his road transport union from the distribution of materials in Lagos State because of his obvious and open involvement in the presidential campaigns of Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC.

“In the case of APGA leadership tussle, INEC should immediately affirm the decision of the court on the matter and no longer refuse to seat Edozie Njoku who the Supreme Court seem to have recognized as Chairman of the party

“We recommend that the courts develop a better jurisprudence that will enable it to revert ultimately to the political bodies, especially to INEC. Instead of making the final decisions in these cases, INEC should rather give directions to INEC on what to take into consideration to make a better decision.

“This will be a more legitimate approach in adjudicating electoral matters. We want to see the court only decide those issues that are more judicially manageable and reserve the politically complicated decisions to INEC.”

Amadi, while citing the case of MC Oluomo, cautioned INEC on certain nexus with parties or individuals that may jeopardize its integrity and the whole electoral processes.

“The Abuja School has identified a dangerous nexus that needs to be closely monitored to ensure that we have free and fair elections.

“That nexus is desperate politicians-weak INEC-overbearing court. We need to stop the activities of desperate politicians who will stop at nothing to distort and manipulate the system. It will be futile for INEC to trust these politicians and play into their hands.

“In our view, the proper stance is to doubt their good faith and keep them at arm’s length as much as possible. The danger of not being careful and neutral is that INEC will lose the trust of the people. Without such trust, there will be no credible elections.

“There is already dangerous development in this regard. Early this week, there was a report that the INEC is determined to use MC Oluomo’s logistic platform to handle sensitive materials for the elections in Lagos State in spite of being a decorated general in the presidential campaign of the APC.

“The presidential candidate of the PDP has called on INEC not to employ MC Oluomo group for the movement of electoral materials because of the real possibility of undermining the credibility of the elections in Lagos State.

“INEC needs not to be told that any association with any platform under the control of MC Oluomo is a big risk. Whatever it will take for INEC to maintain credibility must be done. INEC should go the extra mile to ensure that it does not jeopardize the credibility of the elections it is conducting. Any dealing with MC Oluomo controlled platform is a complete negation of objectivity and neutrality”, he said.