- Femi Falana, a renowned human rights lawyer, urges President Bola Tinubu to ensure credible elections in 2027, highlighting the recurring issues in past elections
- He emphasizes the need to end conflicts of interest in the appointment of electoral commissioners and to reduce the judiciary’s role in determining election outcomes
In a recent interview on Channels TV, renowned human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, has passionately urged President Bola Tinubu to take a firm stance in ensuring that the 2027 elections in Nigeria are not marred by the same old problems that have plagued past elections. Falana emphasized that it’s high time to end the recurring shame of flawed electoral processes in the country.
Falana’s call comes on the heels of a history of electoral issues in Nigeria, where recommendations from various electoral reform committees have often fallen by the wayside. Despite these well-intentioned recommendations, the implementation has been lacking, leading to a lack of progress in the country’s electoral system.
One of the key concerns highlighted by Falana is the appointment of Resident Electoral Commissioners and National Commissioners, who are card-carrying members of political parties or loyalists to these parties. This, he argues, creates a web of conflicts of interest and compromises the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) ability to conduct free and fair elections.
He asserted, “The commitment to achieving credible elections in 2027 is paramount. The time has come to an end the disgraceful history of bad elections in Nigeria, and it falls upon President Tinubu not only to encourage INEC but also to ensure the fulfilment of his promise to deliver credible elections in Nigeria.”
Falana also drew attention to the past endeavours to reform the electoral process in Nigeria. He noted, “Since 2007, successive administrations, including the Yar’Adua regime, Jonathan regime, and Buhari regime, have all established electoral reform committees and panels to provide recommendations that can aid the government in achieving credible elections.”
In the specific case of President Tinubu, he mentioned that as a leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), he set up a committee to advocate for implementing the recommendations from the Uwais Panel. One of the crucial recommendations was the need for independent umpires.
He emphasized, “You cannot have card-carrying members of a political party or loyalists of a party occupying the positions of Resident Electoral Commissioners or National Commissioners. This only complicates the task of INEC in conducting credible elections.”
Furthermore, Falana reiterated his stance that judges should not be the final arbiters of election outcomes, highlighting that Nigeria has the highest number of election petitions in the world. He urged, “We need to make sure that never again will judges be allowed to determine or confirm the results of elections. Such a practice is not observed anywhere else in the world.”
He added, “It’s worth noting that Nigeria has the largest number of election petitions globally. This year, we have recorded the lowest number of election petitions since 2003, with 436 petitions. In 2019, there were 807, and during the 2007 elections, considered the worst in Nigeria’s history, we had a staggering 1,282 petitions.”
In summary, Femi Falana’s impassioned plea underscores the need for a significant overhaul of Nigeria’s electoral processes to ensure credible and fair elections in the future. President Bola Tinubu, as a prominent figure in Nigerian politics, holds a crucial role in shaping the nation’s electoral future.