February 3, 2010
In a case that may have immediate political reverberations, Justice Mohammed Liman of the Federal High Court in Lagos today ruled that the present Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is not competent to organize any election in Nigeria. Delivering judgment in a suit filed by Femi Falana on behalf of the Osun State chapter of the Action Congress against INEC and four others, Justice Liman ruled that the membership of the electoral body was not properly constituted, and that any election conducted by INEC would consequently be unconstitutional. This rule comes less than 48 hours before INEC, which is currently led by Maurice Iwu, is to set to conduct a governorship election in Anambra. The ruling has cast the legitimacy of that election in serious question.
In going to court to challenge the constitution of the current INEC, the AC had contended that the present chairman and four commissioners of INEC contravened section 159 of the 1999 Constitution which stipulates that INEC is to be run by a chairman and 13 commissioners. The said section also stipulates that one–third of the 13 members (comprising five members) must be present before any decision could be taken.
The plaintiffs sued INEC Chairman, Mr. Maurice Iwu, Mr. Phillip Umeadi, Mr. Victor Chukwuani, Mr. A Soyebi and the Resident Electoral Officer of Osun State as co-defendants.
Delivering his verdict, the judge said it was shameful that Iwu and his commissioners could take the country for granted by perpetrating illegalities that they clearly knew was against the constitution of the land.
Justice Liman dismissed the submission of INEC lawyers who challenged his jurisdiction. He stated that he was competent to entertain the matter.
The judgment stressed the role of a properly constituted INEC in the country’s democratic progress. Judge Liman said, “Before I end this judgment, let me remark on a very sad note that INEC constitutes the most important indispensable bedrock on which our democratic institutions are built.” He went on to state that the electoral commission’s “functions are central to the smooth and enduring evolution of our political structure. It is not an overstatement to say that without a functional INEC, no election into any political office will be possible.” He then wondered “how come that in the 11th year of the country's journey into constitutional governance, we do not have an electoral body with its full complement of members?” The judge expressed profound disappointment that “We continue to pretend that all is well with our electoral system while its membership continues to drop from 13 to four and it seems we remain complacent as if all is well.”
Judge Liman ruled that “the earlier both the executive and legislative department of the government acted to reverse this shameful trend, the better for the people of this country,” adding that “INEC in its present composition is not competent to organize any election in Nigeria. As at today, any election organized by INEC is unconstitutional.”
Asked how today’s judgment was likely to affect the February 6th election in Anambra State, a professor of law at the University of Lagos said cryptically that “the judgment is far reaching enough to put the Anambra governorship election in legal jeopardy.”
INEC chairman Maurice Iwu’s tenure expired in 2009, but the former “professor” of pharmacology has remained in office with the connivance of Umaru Yar’adua who claimed that Iwu’s tenure would not expire until later this year.
Most INEC commissioners had retired after the expiration of their constitutionally mandated tenures.
One source within the Presidency told Saharareporters that Attorney General Michael Aondoakaa had advised Yar’adua to retain Iwu as long as possible if he wanted to keep his second term dreams alive. Yar’adua, who empowered Mr. Tony Anenih to embark on a campaign for his second term, has for more than two months been bed-ridden in a Saudi hospital where he is in a near vegetative state.
Several sources, including politicians and INEC operatives, told Saharareporters that Iwu was promising to use the Anambra governorship election to “redeem” his battered image in order to improve his odds of gaining a second term in office.
But one source described Iwu as “a congenital criminal who can’t help acting as an agent of fraudulent, manipulated elections.”
The source added that, even though Iwu “has been making the right noises and meeting with critics and opposition figures in Anambra State to assure them of his resolve to hold credible elections on Saturday, he may well be playing his usual game as a con artist.”
Iwu has privately told some confidants and opposition figures that it was Obasanjo who prevented him from conducting transparent and credible elections in 2007. He has pledged to “surprise everyone in Anambra State by overseeing an election that will receive widespread praise.”
Three days ago, in response to complaints from opposition figures that one of his commissioners, Mr. Chukwuani, was planning to rig the election for the PPA candidate, Mrs. Uchenna Ekwunife, Mr. Iwu transferred the accused commissioner from Anambra State to Adamawa state.
The move impressed some critics, but others continue to doubt Mr. Iwu’s impartiality. His critics cite Iwu’s closeness to former presidential aide Andy Uba, a candidate in Saturday’s election.
Lately, Mr. Iwu has criticized the manner in which Mr. Uba picked up the ticket of the Labour Party, but a source within INEC told Saharareporters that the two men still talk extensively each day. “If Professor Iwu doesn’t try to rig the election for Chief Uba, it’s only because the ground is level now and everybody can see that Andy is one of the weakest candidates out there. So you Iwu can’t find a way to rig it for Uba successfully,” said the source, adding that Iwu’s ostensible criticism of Uba was “just to deceive people that they are no longer in the same camp.”
Iwu, who has a troubled relationship with Charles Chukwuma Soludo, the PDP candidate and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has told close associates that Soludo would never emerge as governor.
Owing to Soludo’s unpopularity within the state, Iwu’s assurance has been warmly welcomed in some quarters. But a representative of a pro-democracy advocacy group told Saharareporters, “such statements, if true, prove the point that Professor Iwu is dangerous for our democracy.” The advocate added, “It’s not up to Iwu to decide who has chances or not in any election. I am no fan of Andy Uba or Soludo, but if the people of Anambra choose either of them in an election that has unquestionable integrity, nobody – especially not Iwu – should overrule the verdict.”
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