2023 election: CSOs kick against Buhari’s nominees as INEC Resident Electoral Commissioners

Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) operating in Nigeria, on Wednesday, kicked against President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominees as Resident Electoral Commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

According to the Situation Room, the three nominees: Professor Mohammed Lawal Bashir, Dr Ugochi Pauline Onyeka and Dr Queen Elizabeth Agu, respectively have questionable credentials regarding their ability to be non-partisan.

The Coalition which comprises over 70 CSOs under the aegis of Situation Room, expressed the concerns via a statement on the ‘Nomination of persons with political affiliations for confirmation as INEC Resident Electoral Commissioners’, jointly signed by Convener and the two Co-Conveners of Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, Ene Obi; Asma’u Joda and James Ugochukwu.

“The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (Situation Room) has asked the Senate Committee on INEC to reject the nomination of Prof. Mohammed Lawal Bashir, Dr Ugochi Pauline Onyeka and Dr Queen Elizabeth Agu as Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on grounds of partisanship and likelihood of bias.

“Prof. Bashir is openly affiliated with and contested in the Governorship primaries of a political party in Sokoto State in the 2015 General Elections. The Situation Room also raised concerns about the nominations of Dr Ugochi Pauline Onyeka from Imo State and Dr Queen Elizabeth Agu from Ebonyi State.

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“Dr Onyeka was a former staff of INEC who was allegedly redeployed on account of her open association with political parties while Dr Agu is reported to be a member of a political party and held a political appointment as an Acting Chief of Staff to Governor David Umahi up until June 2021.

“Section 156(1) of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution, as amended, makes it mandatory that an appointee at INEC shall not be a member of a Political Party. Item F, paragraph 14 of the third schedule to the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria forbids a partisan person as a member of INEC – a body charged under the Constitution to independently conduct free and fair elections.

“President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination of people who are clearly partisan into INEC amounts to a major attempt at undermining efforts to improve the credibility of the electoral body, and contradicts the President’s public claim that he will bequeath a better electoral process to Nigeria.

“We wish to remind President Buhari that he was a beneficiary of a fair and credible electoral process in 2015.

“Appointing a person who is a member of a political party into INEC will affect the independence of the electoral body and citizens’ confidence in the electoral process.

“Consequently, Situation Room has called on the Senate Committee on INEC to whom the nomination was referred to by the Senate Plenary to recommend rejection of the three nominees on grounds of partisanship and likelihood of bias in carrying out the duties of a REC.

“Situation Room is calling on the Senate to rise up, once again, to insist on a non-partisan and independent membership for INEC, particularly at this critical time.”

This Is Our Last Chance —Tinubu

2023 election: CSOs kick against Buhari’s nominees as INEC Resident Electoral Commissioners