Falana Faults Tinubu Over Appointment Of APC, PDP Members As INEC RECs

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has faulted the nomination of 4 out of 10 persons nominated as Resident Electoral Commissioners by President Bola Tinubu, last week.

Naija News reports that Falana, in a statement on Sunday, said such an appointment requires someone with unquestionable integrity and non-partisan, citing some sections of the constitution to back up his claims.

The Chairman Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) argued that the 2027 election must be transparent, and the nation cannot afford to have the Independent National Electoral Commission constituted by card-carrying members of either the ruling party or any political party.

In his words, “By the combined effect of section 154(1) of the Constitution and Paragraph 14 of the Third Schedule to the constitution, there shall be for each State of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, a Resident Electoral Commissioner who shall –be appointed by the President and shall not less than forty years of age.

“In addition, the person shall be of unquestionable integrity and non-partisan. Thus, in order to guarantee the credibility of elections, persons who are loyal to any of the registered political parties shall not be appointed as INEC Commissioners and Resident Electoral Commissioners.

“However, we have confirmed that 4 out of 10 persons nominated as Resident Electoral Commissioners last week by President Bola Tinubu are Constitutionally disabled. Specifically 4 of them are members and close allies of the All Progressive Congress while another member has just relinquished the post of a Special Adviser to a former Governor elected on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party.

“The conduct of the 2027 General Elections must be transparent in every material particular. Therefore, the nation cannot afford to have the Independent National Electoral Commission constituted by card carrying members and loyalists of the ruling party and its collaborators. To that extent, the appointment of the 4 nominees will be challenged at the Federal High Court if the Senate decides to confirm them in defiance of extant constitutional provisions.”