Former President of the Senate, Ken Nnamani, on Tuesday, said the
process of appointment of chairman of the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) was faulty.
He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to adopt the recommendations
of the Uwais Report in order to wholistically reform the nation’s
electoral system.
Nnamani made the call in a keynote address entitled, Towards a More
Credible, Fair and Free Elections in Nigeria, presented at the 3rd
Oronto Douglas Memorial Dialogue held in Abuja.
He said: “It is obvious that the Uwais Report represents a high point
in the search for an electoral system that will suit Nigeria’s peculiar
circumstances.
“The eminent members of that committee proposed many innovations that
could restore credibility and fairness to our electoral system.
Unfortunately, many of these innovative proposals were not implemented.”
Nnamani, a former chairman of the Constitution and Electoral Reform
Committee, stressed the need for Nigeria to learn from South Africa in
the appointment of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC).
“The independence of the election management body is mostly determined by the mode of appointment.
“In South Africa and some African countries, the process of
appointment of electoral management officials is more of competitive
recruitment where those appointed will have a sense that they merited
the position, not that they are beneficiaries of political patronage.”
Nnamani, however, expressed concern over the high cost of conducting
elections in the country and issues of election security and violence.
He called for the reduction of financial gains attached to political
offices to reduce the desperation manifesting during elections.
“Until we can reduce the financial rewards of occupying political
offices through anti-corruption and accountability measures, we should
expect desperation from politicians.
“We must deal with violence and other electoral crimes through
institutional redesigning,” he stressed, adding that electoral offenders
must be punished to serve as deterrents to others.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nnamani was represented at the event by Mallam Mohammed Bello.
Oronto Douglas, a lawyer and environmental activist, was Special
Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on research, documentation and
strategy, and died on April 9, 2015 at the age of 48.
