*Says There Is No Evidence Nigeria’s Electoral Process Has Benefited Anything From The Innovative Electoral Act 2022
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A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa has expressed worry over the conduct and outcome of the just concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections which held on Saturday, 25th of February, 2022.
In a statement made available to TheNigeriaLawyer, Adegboruwa, who is also a renowned human rights activist and social commentator emphasised that a legitimate government can only proceed from a free, fair and transparent electoral process.
According to him, “On Wednesday March 1, 2023, INEC concluded the collation of results of the 2023 presidential election. There have been allegations and reported cases of suppression, intimidation and harassment of voters, corruption of the electoral process, manipulation of election results by politicians and logistics problems on the part of the electoral umpire, amongst many others.”
He continued, “All over the world, democracy is always a game of numbers and of choice, the absence of which creates legitimacy questions. Under and by virtue of section 14 (2) (a) of the 1999 Constitution:
“SOVEREIGNTY belongs to the PEOPLE OF NIGERIA from whom GOVERNMENT through this Constitution DERIVES all its POWERS AND AUTHORITY.” (emphasis supplied).
Thus, the legitimacy of any government belongs to the people of Nigeria through their free mandate as expressed with their votes. To this end, no legitimacy can spring forth from any process that is devoid of transparency and accountability.”
He condemned the cases of violence, threat and loss of lives which accompanied the election and described them as deliberate ploys to compromise the system.
“Observable cases of threat to voters, physical injury and even death in some cases, all indicate some form of deliberate design to compromise the electoral process of the last presidential election. This is totally unacceptable.”
According to Adegboruwa, INEC had all it required to conduct a free, fair and seamless poll, and lamented that from what transpired in the poll, the intended positives brought about by the 2022 Electoral Act were not welcomed in reality.
He stressed, “In order to guarantee the autonomy of INEC, the Constitution makes it totally independent. For this particular election, funding was provided ahead of time to enable INEC create a free, fair and credible process.
As law-abiding citizens, we have thus waited for INEC to conclude the process of the presidential election, in order to provide the basis for all aggrieved participants and stakeholders to engage the due process of law to ventilate their grievances.
It is worrisome that our electoral process has not gained any advantage from the robust efforts of well-meaning Nigerians, leading to the enactment of the Electoral Act, 2022.”
He further noted that the desire for peace and progress in any land can only be achieved through the pursuit of truth and justice, and encouraged all aggrieved persons to embrace the legitimate avenues created by law to achieve lawful remedies.
He equally noted that INEC has a big burden to demonstrate integrity, accountability and transparent adherence to the laws regulating the electoral process and its own guidelines, which will enable us to determine the TRUE will of the people, no matter the circumstances.
He concluded that the presidential election of February 25, 2023 cannot be portrayed as a worthy legacy for our dear country.
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