- Says Nigeria has a long way to go in ensuring credible elections
As arguments continue outside the courts over Supreme Court’s decision on the 2023 Presidential election, rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN insists that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and not the judiciary should determine the outcome of elections in Nigeria.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday.
Falana said: “No doubt the judgment of the Supreme Court ascended the electoral contestation as far as the presidential election conducted in February this year is concerned, but for sure it is not a judicial endorsement of the conduct of the election by INEC.
“And what I mean is that even with the judgment, it is very clear that Nigeria has a long way to go in terms of ensuring that credible elections are conducted, elections that will be devoid of acrimony, elections that all of us will be proud of, but we are still a long way from there even with the judgment.
“Yes for now the presidential election is concluded, it should have been concluded in February, but it has just been concluded by the Supreme Court and it should not be so. The judiciary should not determine the winners of elections.
“Judges are not suited to determine the winners of election; that is a job that is the exclusive reserve of INEC if things are done properly and that is why we must put an end to the shame that has become our law in terms of conducting elections.”
Additionally, the fiery lawyer said Nigeria must realise at all times that it has the largest concentration of black people on earth and therefore has a greater responsibility to put its house in order so that black people will not be insulted all over the world.
Again he said it does not take much to conduct a good election if the political class are honest and dedicated in the conduct of transparent elections.
The Supreme Court in its ruling on Thursday, upheld the election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and dismissed the appeals by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar; and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi.
A seven-judge panel comprising of Justice John Inyang Okoro, Uwani Musa Abba Aji, Lawal Garba, I.N. M. Saulawa, Adamu Jauro, Tijjani Abubakar and Emmanuel A. Agim held that the opposition appeals over claims of fraud, electoral law violations, and Tinubu’s ineligibility to run for President lack merit.
