Again, Senate on Trial over Buhari’s Nomination of INEC’s RECs

After rejecting the nomination of a presidential aide, Ms. Lauretta Onochie, as national commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission for being a member of the All Progressives Congress, the Senate is being pressurised to also reject President Muhammadu Buhari’s request to confirm his four nominees as Resident Electoral Commissioners on account of their membership of the ruling party and alleged corruption, Udora Orizu reports

Barely one year after the rejection of the nomination of a presidential aide, Ms. Lauretta Onochie, as national commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on account of her membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC),President Muhammadu Buhari has again asked the Senate to confirm another four card-carrying members of the ruling party as Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).

On July 26, 2022, the Senate announced Buhari’s appointment of 19 RECs following the expiration of the tenure of the outgone RECs in 19 states. The president said the request for confirmation of the nominees was in accordance with the provisions of Section 154 (1) of the 1999 Constitution Nigeria (as amended).

Of the 19 nominated RECs, 14 were new appointments, while five were reappointed. The new nominees included Pauline Onyeka Ugochi (Imo); Muhammad Lawal Bashir (Sokoto); Prof. Ayobami Salami (Oyo); Zango Abdu (Katsina); Queen Elizabeth Agwu (Ebonyi); Agundu Tersoo (Benue), Yomere Oritsemlebi (Delta); Prof. Yahaya Ibrahim, (Kaduna); Dr. Nura Ali (Kano); Agu Uchenna Sylvia (Enugu) and Ahmed Garki (FCT); Hudu Yunusa (Bauchi); Prof. Uzochukwu Chijioke, (Anambra); and Mohammed Nura (Yobe).

The reappointed nominees included Ibrahim Abdullahi (Adamawa); Obo Effanga (Cross River); Umar Ibrahim (Taraba); Agboke Olaleke (Ogun); and Prof. Samuel Egwu (Kogi).

In a swift reaction, nine Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) last week kicked against four of the nominees and urged the Senate not to confirm them.

The current controversy over the submission of the names of the four nominees to the Senate came barely one year after the controversial nomination of Onochie who is a presidential aide, and card-carrying member of the APC.

 Although Onochie denied being a member of the APC, the evidence to the contrary was overwhelming and her appointment was rejected by the Senate.

Onochie’s nomination had generated controversy with critical stakeholders such as the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), many CSOs, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a cross-section of Nigerians vehemently kicking against it on the grounds of her being a registered member of the ruling APC.

They stated that her choice was not in order given her alleged ‘partisanship and identification’ with the APC, arguing that it violated Section 14(2a) of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which states that “a member of the commission shall be non-partisan and a person of unquestionable integrity.”

But when the Senate finally rejected her nomination, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Kabiru Gaya, told Nigerians that even though the petitions against her boiled down to her involvement in politics and alleged membership of a political party, her nomination violated the federal character principles as there was already a serving national electoral commissioner from Delta State, Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu. 

He said: “In the case of Ms. Onochie, we have studied her curriculum vitae and other relevant documents, followed by exhaustive interaction around the petitions against her nomination, which she responded to accordingly, including attesting that she is not a registered member of any political party.”

According to him, the committee, bound by the provisions of Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) on federal character principle, refused to recommend Onochie for confirmation.

“Therefore, based on the provisions of Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) on federal character principle as earlier stated, and in order for the committee and the Senate to achieve fairness to other states and political zones in the country, the committee is unable to recommend Ms. Onochie for confirmation as a national electoral commissioner for INEC,” he reportedly explained.

Reacting to the latest nomination of RECs by President Buhari, the nine civil societies which are working to strengthen Nigeria’s electoral process, called on the president to withdraw four nominees on the grounds that they either belong to a political party or have been previously indicted for corruption.

According to the CSOs, the nominees “fell short of the threshold of non-partisanship and impeccable character.”

The CSOs included: Yiaga Africa, The Kukah Centre, International Press Centre (IPC), Centre for Media and Society, The Albino Foundation, Elect Her, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Partners for Electoral Reform and Inclusive Friends Association.

In a press conference, the CSOs faulted some of the nominees for being partisan and of questionable past. In his address, the Director of the IPC, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, said Bashir, the nominee from Sokoto State, was a governorship aspirant under the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 elections.  He also alleged that Agu, the nominee for Enugu State, is believed to be the younger sister of the APC Deputy National Chairman, South-east. According to the statement, the nominee for Imo State,  Onyeka, who is a former Head of ICT at INEC in Imo State, gained notoriety for alleged corruption and connivance with politicians to undermine elections.

He said Agwu, a former Accountant-General in Ebonyi State, was suspended allegedly on the grounds of incompetence and corruption in 2016.

The appointments, he noted, have grave implications for the credibility, independence and capacity of INEC to deliver credible, transparent, inclusive and conclusive elections.

Arogundade also said their appointments would significantly undermine the neutrality and impartiality of the commission and will increase mistrust in Nigeria’s electoral process.

“By the combined effect of Section 156(1(a) and Third Schedule, Part 1, Item F, paragraph 14(1), these individuals are constitutionally prohibited from any appointment as members of INEC. It will be against the sacred spirit of the Constitution to accept their nomination. Given their antecedent and close affinity with political parties, it is improbable that they will remain neutral and objective if successfully screened as INEC REC.”

Also speaking, a Board Member of Yiaga Africa, Ezenwa Nwagwu, disclosed that investigation and analysis by the civil societies showed that some of the nominees put forward by President Buhari failed the constitutional test of non-partisanship and unquestionable integrity. According to him, evidence abounds that some of the nominees are partisan, politically aligned, or previously indicted for corruption.

Citing Section 156(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution which prohibited the appointment of any person who is a member of a political party as a member of INEC, Nwagwu said: “We contend that the appointment of these individuals as RECs will significantly undermine the neutrality and impartiality of INEC, and it will increase mistrust in INEC and Nigeria’s electoral process.”

Another member of the group, Jake Epkelle of the Albino Foundation, was worried that the appointments did not reflect the principles of non-discrimination and inclusivity – with regard to Persons with Disability (PWDs).

While he stressed the need to make the electoral process more inclusive, representative and qualitative, he said the appointment of PWDs would provide the pulse required to give effect to the provisions of the Discrimination Against Persons Living with Disabilities Act, 2018, and other legislations and guiding principles in that regard.

The CSOs, therefore, rejected the appointments and urged Buhari to withdraw their nomination in the public interest and in furtherance of his commitment to leave a legacy of a truly independent electoral institution.

They also called for a thorough examination and background checks of the credentials of the nominees.

The Senate was also specifically asked to reject the nominees that fall short of the threshold of non-partisanship and impeccable character.

“In making nominations into INEC, President Buhari should be guided by the judgment of the Federal High Court on affirmative action wherein the court directed that all appointments must comply with the 35% affirmative action for women. In the same vein, the President should ensure the representation of Persons with Disability (PWDs) and young people in the appointments,” the CSOs said.

However, with pliant Dr. Ahmad Lawan still in charge of the Senate, many have expressed doubt about the capacity of the lawmakers to muster the needed political will to reject the four REC nominees.