Adoke: Call for Suspension of 2023 Election Not Justifiable
Alex Enumah
A former Attorney General of the Federation(AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, has argued that the call by renown Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and academia, Chief Afe Babalola, for the suspension of the 2023 general election would not augur well for the country, adding that such suspension is capable of truncating the country’s hard-earned democracy.
Babalola, following worsening insecurity and other problems plaguing the country on Monday, called for the enthronement of an interim administration to take over from President Muhammadu in 2023 when his tenure expires rather than conducting an election.
But in his reaction yesterday, the former AGF stated that the Babalola’s statement should not be ignored or taken for granted because of the “issues raised as well as the personality of the author”, whom he described as a revered elder statesman and a legal luminary of great repute.
“First, I believe that the call for the suspension of the 2023 elections cannot be justified at this time as it will create a gap in our democratic transition capable of truncating our democracy,” he said.
Adoke, while stating that democracy is sustained by periodic elections where the voters express their preference on who should govern them, noted that the 2023 elections are around the corner and the electorate is already primed to exercise this power.
He therefore, remarked that it will be an anti-climax for voters to be left on a cliffhanger until “Nigeria has a new people’s constitution which should provide for a part-time legislator and non-executive president” and an “interim government drawn from all living presidents and vice presidents; some selected ministers and governors and delegates of prominent professional associations”, as suggested by Afe Babalola, to midwife that process.
In opposing the call, Adoke raised some pertinent questions such as the timeframe for producing a people’s constitution, modalities of selecting those persons, who will organise the elections, and the legal framework that will be used to regulate the process.
While he argued that the country’s history does not suggest that these milestones can be accomplished within two years, citing the Babangida’s transition which took almost nine years, Adoke submitted that “Nigerians do not wish to wait ad infinitum to be able to exercise their franchise to elect their representatives and Heads of Government at the federal, state and local government levels.”
He furthermore claimed that the interim government is alien to constitutional democracy as Nigeria’s constitution has no provision for it.
“This is more so as structures required to conduct elections, such as the INEC, exist. If allowed to discharge their mandate independently, they can deliver a free, fair, and credible election without the need for an interim government. The idea of an interim government leaves a bad taste in the mouth given our recent history with the Chief Ernest Shonekan-led interim government, which was supplanted almost immediately by the military junta led by General Sani Abacha.
“An interim government is a recipe for a military coup because of the gap it creates in the country’s governance. Its composition, as suggested by Chief Afe Babalola, is palpably undemocratic and a negation of the will of the people. Almost all our past presidents, vice presidents, ministers and governors are daily blamed for their culpability in the socio-economic and political malaise of the country.
“Are these the same Nigerians expected to midwife our political process? What are their political preferences and political leanings? Are they not compromised by partisanship as to superintend over a process that can usher in free, fair and credible elections? How effective was the Shonekan-led interim government in supervising our democratic processes before it was shoved aside by the military? Adoke asked.
