INEC Unwittingly Loses The Savour Of Independence In The Hands Of The Ruling Party
Igho Akeregha, a member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, recently appeared on the Kakaaki program on AIT and expressed his concerns about the independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Nigeria. Akeregha questioned the independence of INEC, considering that the commission goes to court and supports one of the political parties. He was reacting to the ongoing presidential election petition at the appeal court.
He criticized INEC’s conduct, stating that it has become one of the political parties instead of being an impartial umpire. He argued that INEC conducted the election, released the result, and is now coming to court to defend its actions. According to Akeregha, this makes it impossible for INEC to be independent as there is a legal philosophy that states that “you cannot be a judge in your own case.” He pointed out that the only institution that can question INEC legitimately is the court, but the commission has now become part of the defense team.
He asked, “How independent is INEC when you will now go to court, queue behind one of the political parties to challenge those who are saying that the process was not conducted in accordance with its own guidelines?”
Akeregha highlighted the need for INEC to be impartial and act independently. He expressed his concerns about the commission’s impartiality and argued that INEC’s current conduct undermines democracy and the credibility of the electoral process. Akeregha stressed that INEC needs to be an impartial umpire, and the only way to ensure this is for the commission to maintain its independence and avoid aligning itself with any political party.
