Zainab Suleiman Okino urges the Bauchi State APC to put its house in order

As the race for the 2023 general elections formally began last week, the need to scrutinise candidates jostling for various positions has become more important for political parties and gladiators.

At this stage of the electoral process, the least you would expect from a candidate or party is to be found on the wrong side of the law, the Electoral Act and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) guidelines that is. But in Bauchi State, the All-Progressives Congress (APC) appears to be walking a tight rope and undermining itself wittingly or inadvertently, going by the allegation of faulty documentation of its candidate, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar Baba (rtd).

Again, the last person you would expect to run afoul of the law is a top notch, well-decorated retired general of the Nigerian Airforce, whose glorious career was crowned with the highest honour in his profession as the Air Marshal; having also served as the Chief of Air Staff from July 12, 2015 to January 26, 2021 before veering into the murky waters of politics. He got elected as the candidate of the ruling party for next year’s election in May this year.

Therefore, when information filtered in that the Air Marshal’s documents filed to INEC in what is called form EC-9 were either not adequate, the issue got tongues wagging. Form EC-9 is an INEC document to be filled by those wishing to stand for any elective office; it contains personal particulars such as age, nationality, sex, address, educational qualification, etc.

As simple as providing this basic credential is, it could be a banana peel for anyone aspiring for office, if wrongly done.  The opposition, the media and CSOs are always out searching for loopholes in their claims to sanitise the electoral process.

That is why in this era of deep politics, any serious candidate desirous of winning clean would have to come to equity with clean hands, otherwise the result could be disastrous. While I hope this will not be the case with the amiable ex Chief of Air staff, it does not look like he has done due diligence with regard to his earned academic laurels, otherwise what does it take to collect and submit citizenship form, birth certificate (or declaration of age), primary and secondary school certificates if he could submit first and second-degree certificates?
Coming under further scrutiny, the retired Air Marshal was accused of not providing information about his citizenship of Nigeria. In a petition to INEC by a civil society organization, the group said: “As part of our scrutiny of candidates aspiring for political office for the February 2023 election, we are currently going through submissions made by candidates to your commission as required by the law. In the course of this, we have found with concerns the submission made by the candidate of the APC for the governorship of Bauchi State, AM Ababakar Sadique Baba (rtd.) where he filed incomplete information and withheld important credentials that should be part and parcel of his form EC-9.

“A cursory look at the form shows the candidate claimed that he was born in Azare. He also claimed to have attended St Paul’s Primary School and finished in 1973 and graduated from GSS Bauchi in 1978. Curiously, however, the candidate did not annex documents to prove all these claims that are vital to his overall credentials”. The petitioner further stated that “persons aspiring for positions must prove that they are citizens of Nigeria beyond reasonable doubt which Mr Sadique Baba failed to do. Surprisingly, however the very document that should prove to us the citizenship of the candidate in question was not supplied.

“Anybody reviewing the documents is also left doubtful about the primary and secondary schools the candidate claimed to have attended as there is no evidential document to confirm that. We view this as a flagrant disregard of the electoral Act and the INEC guidelines as all candidates are clearly directed to attach all credentials, they claim to possess to the EC-9 form.”

In addition to the publication of names and addresses, Section 31(3) of the Electoral Act requires “INEC to publish particulars of a nominated candidate in the constituency where he/she intends to contest the election….”. One element of the requirement is the “publication of personal particulars of candidates which should be ‘within seven days of receipt of candidates’ list’. This had since elapsed, thus validating the petition to INEC. The question now is, if he had these ‘documents’ and they are genuine, why did he not make it public?

While it was easy for the Bauchi APC to waive the enquiry by the press aside, the larger implication is that Sadique Baba’s candidacy can be challenged on grounds of the Electoral Act and can be a subject of litigation in a competent court or tribunal if not now, possibly in future, if he secures a victory in the March governorship election.

All this may seem far off, but a smart legal team could upturn a legitimate victory on the basis of technical ground, which might not augur well for the gentleman and the APC.

In the last few years, Nigeria is referenced as a model in democratic transitions in Africa, especially since 2015, when ex-president Goodluck Jonathan successfully handed over to the opposition, coupled with the string of transparent off-season elections conducted so far by INEC. This should not be truncated. INEC should also be cognisant of the concerns of citizens expressed through petitions, protests or complaints.

 Okino chairs the Editorial Board of Blueprint