Stakeholders have expressed the alarm over revelations by Professor Mahood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), that the agency has over 900 pre-election cases three months to the 2023 general elections.

The analysts who spoke at the weekend took a critical look at the development and noted that the excess court cases challenging the outcome of party primaries may stall preparations for the polls, including delaying printing and procurement of electoral materials.

Barrister Emeka Iheonu, a Lagos-based lawyer and member of the African Bar Association (ABA), agreed that the situation is indeed worrisome and can mar the peaceful conduct of credible 2023 general elections.

In his contribution, Barrister Iheonu stressed that INEC should at least two years before any election, be publishing the usual timetable for parties to conduct their primaries for various positions, submit the names of winners, the election dates, results, swearing in, etc.

He stressed: “In between the primaries and submission of names and the election and swearing in, petitions to court should be considered in the timelines.

“INEC leadership should lobby the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) for his directions to judges and Election Panels nationwide to give verdicts on complaints within the timelines provided by INEC so as not to disrupt the timelines provided.

“Strict adherence to timelines will make INEC prepare electoral matters ahead of time after publishing the final list of successful candidates.”

Hon. Charles Anike, National President, Eastern Union (EU), lamented that incessant litigations and counter litigations by Nigerian politicians have left a lot to be desired in the nation’s electoral system, although they also point to the beauty of democracy.

Hon. Anike stressed: “Our politicians cutting across all the political parties, have no spirit of sportsmanship in them.

“In Nigeria, many of the political actors have over the years, lost relevance and influence among their party members in particular and Nigerians at large.

“This is because, more often than not, they have squandered their good opportunities and chances to bring dividends of democracy to the people, hence they usually and will always resort to all kinds of unorthodox means to retain positions.

“Most of them usually embezzle all the monies allocated to them for development of their various constituencies, thereby losing the respect of their people.

“The end result is that when they lose nominations, they resort to protracted litigation.

“So, many of them who have the opportunity to represent their constituents will prefer to die in service, rather than live to see someone else have a taste.”

Anike added: “The Nigerian courts being accomplices are not helping matters. Otherwise, they should give pre and post primary election matters speedy hearing and consequently declaration of judgments.

“INEC, on its part, should adopt a policy that every unconcluded primary will be conducted as supplementary elections after the general elections to avoid distractions. By that, it will not be held down by incessant litigation.”

Comrade Aluh Moses Odeh, National Leader, All Middle Belt Youth Forum (AMBYF), stated: “INEC should not use those court cases as an excuse for any attempt to fail Nigerians since those cases have nothing to do with printing or procurement of electoral materials.

He argued: “Is INEC telling us that anyone is standing as an independent candidate? Those court cases are pre-election matters that must be decided and settled before the main election, as contained in the Electoral Act 2022 which from INEC time table, a time frame was given for that.

“It is the political parties that stand for elections, not individuals. So, the excuse of court cases to justify failure is totally unacceptable.

“The greedy attitude of the party leaders also contributes to this mess. I have a friend who contested and won a State House of Assembly ticket in Lagos in a primary election supervised by INEC, only for his name to be removed and replaced with that of someone who did not participate in that primary during the submission of candidates’ name to INEC because his party leader doesn’t want him.

“INEC should be bold to speak as an independent commission, especially in a primary election where it witnessed its conduct and a candidate emerged, to save us from going 360° without making progress.”

Comrade Kunle Wizeman Ajayi, former State Chairman, African Action Congress (AAC), Lagos State chapter and a member of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), on his own, stated that INEC needs internal cleansing.

According to him, “If the various departments are not compromised, things would have been done the way it should be, and there will be no need for judicial interventions.

“INEC should order its Legal Department to stand against all irregularities presently going on in various courts of the country.”

In his contribution, Rev. Dr. Francis Ujunwa Simeon, , a theologian and the International Secretary, Christian Association of Igbo Ministers Worldwide (CAIM), maintained that one of the banes of Nigerian electoral process is the disruptive effect of excessive court cases, many of which are frivolous.

This, he explained, is why there are different gubernatorial election dates in some states of the federation.

According to Rev Simeon, also a commentator on national affairs, “As a solution to this challenge, INEC should engage three critical bodies, the political parties, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the election tribunal judges concerning the provisions of the Electoral Act and INEC’s administrative policies regarding the conduct of the elections.

“INEC should liaise with the NBA to discipline the lawyers who encourage their clients to abuse court processes because of their pecuniary gains instead of advising them to accept electoral defeat in good faith.

“The Federal High Court of Nigeria has already constituted a special task force of judges to expeditiously dispose of all the 996 pre-election cases pending before the various courts within four weeks. INEC should liaise with those judges.

“Recently, the Chief Justice of Nigeria appointed about 307 judges who will preside over the Election Petition Tribunals to handle the electoral disputes that may arise from the 2023 elections.

“INEC should work with the CJN to stem the tide of conflicting court judgments which cause a lot of confusion for INEC and the electoral system at large.” (Sunday Independent)

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