Partisan RECs can’t conduct free, fair elections because of self interest
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Femi Falana, SAN has criticised the appointment of politically partisan individuals by President Bola Tinubu as Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) it cannot conduct credible elections with such persons overseeing the process in states.
The human rights activist made the point on Channels Television at the weekend.
Tinubu recently nominated some people as RECs who are known to be card-carrying members of his All Progressives Congress (APC).
Despite loud public criticism, the Senate on November 2 confirmed the three remaining RECs after the first seven of the 10 nominated by Tinubu were confirmed the previous day.
“Since 1999, we have had this terrible experience of a ruling party trying to populate the electoral body with party loyalists and sympathisers, and that was what led to the amendment of the Constitution,” Falana said.
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Failure of success administrations
“Successive regimes in Nigeria, Yar’Adua’s regime, Jonathan’s regime, and Buhari’s regime have all set up electoral reform committees or panels to make recommendations that will assist the government to have credible elections,” Falana added, according to reporting by Vanguard.
“In the case of Tinubu as a leader of the CAN, he set up a committee for electoral reforms to campaign for the implementation of the recommendations of the Uwais Panel, and one of them is that we must have independent umpires in every material particular.
“You can’t have a card-carrying member of a political party or a loyalist of a political party to be a Resident Electoral Commissioner or a National Commissioner; you complicate the problem for INEC to have credible elections.”
Newly confirmed RECS
The newly confirmed RECs and their postings include:
- Isah Shaka Ehimeakne – (Edo)
- Bamidele Agbede – (Ekiti)
- Jani Adamu Bello – (Gombe)
- Taiye Ilayasu – (Kwara)
- Bunmi Omoseyindemi – (Lagos)
- Yahaya Bello – (Nasarawa)
- Mohammed Yalwa – (Niger)
- Anugbum Onuoha – (Rivers)
- Abubakar Fawa Dambo – (Zamfara)