The Independent National Electoral Commission has defended its proposal for the establishment of the Electoral Offences Commission, saying it will check the culture of electoral impunity in the country.
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, stated this in response to an enquiry by SUNDAY PUNCH on the rejection of the proposal by the National Assembly.
He appealed to the National Assembly to reconsider its decision.
According to him, the EOC will handle only cases relating to electoral offences.
Idowu said, “INEC has made it clear that it lacks the capacity to effectively prosecute electoral offenders, considering the high number of suspects.
“Yes, INEC feels strongly that such a commission is needed. Don’t forget it was a recommendation of the (Justice Muhammed) Uwais panel. The National Assembly is urged to do all in its power and wisdom to aid this cause.”
When asked if the commission would present the proposal again, he said, “Yes, if there is an opportunity.”
The Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, had at a forum organised by the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria in Abuja on Thursday, said the National Assembly had rejected the proposal by INEC for the establishment of EOC.
He had said, “We have agreed with INEC that there is a need to discourage people from committing electoral offences. INEC sent us a letter requesting the establishment of an electoral offences commission, which had earlier been suggested by the Justice Muhammed Uwais Electoral Reforms Panel.
“The view of the National Assembly on the matter is that there are too many organisations and too many bureaucracies. What we can do is to take advantage of the existing bureaucracies that deal with that situation.”
But political parties and civil society groups condemned the decision of the National Assembly.
In separate interviews with SUNDAY PUNCH, in Abuja, on Friday, groups interviewed expressed a preference for the recommendation of the Justice Mohammed Uwais Panel.
The panel had recommended the establishment of a special court dedicated to the handling of electoral offences.
The National Chairman of the Labour Party, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, said the party condemned the rejection of the Uwais panel recommendation, which was key to unbundling INEC.
Nwanyanwu, who spoke to one of our correspondents on the matter, asked the INEC to take advantage of the ongoing constitutional amendment process to re-present the request.
He said, “It (the rejection) is condemnable and INEC should continue to press for it. It must not be killed. Those who killed it are beneficiaries of election rigging and are bent on rigging the 2015 general election.”
In a similar vein, the President of the Voters Assembly, Mashood Erubami, said it was illogical for the National Assembly to reject the proposal because regular courts were overwhelmed by criminal cases.
He said, “Cases of electoral fraud will be better handled by an Electoral Offences Tribunal. That is our position. A special court in the name of the Electoral Offences Tribunal should be established immediately to unbundle INEC.”
Also, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative and Advocacy Centre, Auwul Musa, said there was no excuse for legislators to block what was clearly needed to improve the electoral process.
“This is what we have been saying all along. We cannot afford to be left behind; we need to move forward with the establishment of the tribunal,” he said.
When contacted, the Interim National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Lai Mohammed, said the party could only make its position known after meeting on the issue.
His counterpart in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, Olisa Metuh, did not pick or return calls put across to him.
The Chairman of the commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, had on May 31, 2012, while receiving the Senate Committee on INEC, said the electoral body lacked the capacity to prosecute electoral offenders.
Jega had lamented that INEC was too busy with other electoral matters and that its legal department was too small to handle the prosecution of electoral offenders.
Copyright PUNCH.
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