Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr Monday Ubani, SAN, has described INEC’s introduction of downloadable Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for voters who have misplaced or defaced their original cards as “very commendable, very progressive, forward-looking, and aligns with global trends,” while raising a critical legal question about whether a soft copy of a PVC satisfies the requirement of Section 47 of the Electoral Act that a voter must present a physical card to the presiding officer before being allowed to vote.
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Ubani also declared that the Electoral Act does not permit political parties to smuggle candidates who never participated in primary elections into the process, warned that safeguards against cybersecurity risks, impersonation, identity theft, and hacking must be built into any technology deployed in the electoral process, and called on lawyers and judges not to allow themselves to be “used by politicians in order to scuttle the entire process.”
The Senior Advocate spoke during a television interview in which he addressed the implications of the APC’s recent replacement of some National Assembly candidates, INEC’s warning that it would reject names that did not correspond with monitored primaries, the downloadable PVC initiative, and recent court judgments on the NDC registration and ADC internal affairs.
Ubani addressed the question of whether someone who did not participate in a party’s primary election can suddenly emerge as the party’s candidate.
“The electoral act does not authorise that. It will not be acceptable if you don’t participate in the process from the beginning. There is no way midstream they will just smuggle you in and then you become a candidate without participating in the primary election itself,” Ubani stated.
He explained that where such smuggling occurs, the courts will intervene: “Where there is this issue that you never participated in the primary election and the political party now smuggled a candidate that was never there in the first place, of course that will activate the intervention of the judiciary in order to ensure that the issue of fair hearing is given to you as a candidate.”
Ubani noted that both the Electoral Act and INEC’s electoral guidelines prohibit such practices, and that INEC’s power to monitor primary elections provides an independent verification mechanism. “If INEC says we never monitored this particular election in which this person is said to have emerged, then it means that it’s going to be a problem when the matter becomes an issue in court, and the court will actually want to believe INEC, which is an authority on the issue of conducting elections and even looking into the primary election of political parties,” the Senior Advocate stated.
“It will be very difficult in the light of the new electoral act for somebody who never participated in the primary election of a political party to suddenly emerge as a candidate. It may not be allowed again under the new electoral act,” Ubani concluded on the point.
Ubani gave a strong endorsement of INEC’s introduction of downloadable PVCs.
“That particular process is very commendable, is very progressive, is forward-looking, and it aligns with global trends. The issue of the electoral process in the world now is the issue of digitisation. They digitise the process, make sure that technology is deployed in our electoral process,” Ubani stated.
“If you’re now saying that people who have defaced their card or have lost it can now download their card without coming physically to the office, I think it is progressive thinking and it’s something that is highly commendable. INEC is actually aligning itself with global trends,” he added.
He expressed broader satisfaction with the direction of Nigerian institutions: “It makes me feel happy that every institution in Nigeria now is actually forward-looking, thinking ahead, and aligning itself with global trends.”
However, Ubani raised a legal question that could become the subject of significant debate and potential litigation: whether a downloaded soft copy of a PVC satisfies the statutory requirement for voting.
“The process now is whether it is going to be the same physical card that has been downloaded or something like a soft copy. If it is a soft copy, could it satisfy the requirement of Section 47(1) and (2) of the new Electoral Act that says when you want to vote, it is your physical card you give to the presiding officer?” Ubani asked.
“So will it be the downloadable, the soft copy, you will give? Does the Act itself actually anticipate the issue of a soft copy of a PVC? That may be another issue that will be debated,” the Senior Advocate stated.
The question is legally significant because if the Electoral Act specifically requires the presentation of a physical card and does not contemplate a digital or soft copy, there could be a mismatch between the technological innovation and the statutory framework, potentially creating a ground for election petitions where voters present downloaded PVCs rather than physical cards.
Ubani emphasised that while the downloadable PVC initiative is progressive, the safeguards against abuse are critical.
“Of course there are challenges: cybersecurity risk, the issue of impersonation, issue of identity theft, or even hacking. These are natural concerns when you are dealing with technology. But then you have to build safeguards in order to ensure that anything that will actually lead to negativity, you build against it,” Ubani stated.
He noted the 90-day timeline that INEC has prescribed for processing replacement requests as one such safeguard, allowing the commission to scrutinise applications from persons claiming to have lost or defaced their cards.
Ubani identified specific technical safeguards that should be deployed: encrypted biometrics, QR (Quick Response) access codes for verification, and integration with the National Identification Number (NIN) system.
“With NIN in Nigeria today being a game changer, you can’t have two NINs for two persons. It’s only one NIN for an individual. So with that we are trying to ensure that we follow the global trend of having identity more secured and data privacy protected,” Ubani stated.
“As we are heading towards technology in our electoral process, the issue of safeguards are also very important so that you don’t allow the system to be messed up by virtue of those who don’t mean well for the country. Cybersecurity risk and the issue of data privacy, we must protect all of that in the process,” the Senior Advocate added.
Ubani addressed the broader question of why Nigeria’s electoral process continues to face challenges despite having comprehensive legislation.
“It is implementation of the law that actually matters. Nigerians have been known for this: it’s not an issue of law. We have a body of laws in the country, but when it comes to implementation, that is where we have failed ourselves as a nation,” Ubani stated.
He drew a comparison with other countries: “What I see in other developed economies where their own law is working, it’s not as if they don’t have people who want to disobey the law or go against the law. It is that there is punishment and they implement their law irrespective of whoever you are. They don’t look at your face. The prime minister can be fined. A senator can be fined. Any person can be fined. But here in Nigeria, we look at faces, we look at status, and that does not help the implementation of our law.”
He pointed to African countries that have improved their electoral systems: “If you go to Kenya today, they have improved their system. If you go to South Africa, they have improved their system. Other nations in Africa, even Ghana, Ghana had elections that were almost 100 per cent free.”
Ubani expressed optimism about 2027: “With the man at the helm of affairs, with the way he’s thinking, and the fast-forward and progressive method that he is looking at issues, I believe that 2027 election is going to be very fair and credible.”
Ubani briefly addressed the Lokoja Federal High Court ruling that vacated the NDC’s registration.
“One thing I know is that it was already a judgment in which the court was functus officio. There must be certainty in court proceedings. There must be an end to it,” Ubani stated.
“If you feel that you were actually excluded at the lower court during the trial process, the process I know is that you can bring an application to join as an interested party at the Court of Appeal. You appeal the judgment and bring an application to join as an interested party. But not that you were excluded and for that reason a judgment that has been entered as far back as December, now suddenly in May you suddenly woke up and say you want to set aside that judgment,” Ubani stated.
He expressed confidence that the appellate process would correct the situation: “It is before the Court of Appeal and I think justice will be done. It’s a judgment that lawyers have looked at and say there is some level of procedural irregularity, but I know that the appellate process will correct all that.”
Ubani also addressed a recent judgment on the ADC’s internal affairs.
“We’ve been saying it, that anything that has to do with internal affairs of a political party, the court has no jurisdiction. The court rightly held that it’s an internal matter of the party and we should not in any way ventilate unless you can prove that there is actually a real breach of either the Electoral Act, the Constitution, or the electoral guideline, or that you are denied fair hearing,” Ubani stated.
He noted that the Electoral Act provides for penalties against frivolous litigation: “If you bring any such thing before the court, you are going to be fined. I’m talking about the litigant, and then the lawyer that filed the action on behalf of his client will also be fined. And I think the lawyer was also fined N10 million for that particular action he commenced on behalf of his client.”
Ubani concluded with a direct appeal to both lawyers and judges.
“It’s important we know these things, make a distinction. If a client comes to you, look at the issue critically, examine it. Is it a matter that requires adjudication? Is it justiciable? And if it’s not, for God’s sake, don’t ever go to court in order to mess up the entire system,” Ubani stated.
“We must allow this democracy to survive. As lawyers, we have a role to play. Judges also have a role to play. We must not in any way be used by politicians in order to scuttle the entire process. It will not help and is not going to help our system. That is my advice to counsel and to some of the judges,” the Senior Advocate concluded.
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