The national chairman of the Advanced Democratic Party (ADP), Yabagi Sani, has called for the removal of the power to appoint the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Resident Electoral Commissioners from the president.
Mr Sani also advocated for a review of the section of the constitution that empowers the president to appoint the Inspector-General of Police (IGP).
In an interview with journalists on Sunday in Abuja, the chairman said the National Assembly, in the course of amending the constitution, should look into those portions for the nation’s democracy to be properly grounded.
Mr Sani, while answering questions on how to strengthen the country’s democratic rule, said it was improper for the constitution to place such strategic responsibilities on the president, who, oftentimes, is actively involved in the contest.
“It is not good for the president to appoint the INEC chairman and everybody that matters in the commission.
“Again, the most leading security agency in a democratic government is the police. How does he appoint our IGP, the DIG and others because they are the ones who protect people and play fundamental roles in the process of elections?
“The National Assembly is aware that these are the key aspects that must be changed first if we want a level-playing field for democracy to be strong in this country,” he said.
Mr Sani, who said Nigeria should emulate countries like the United States of America and Mexico, where police chiefs are usually elected rather than appointed.
He suggested a system whereby the National Judicial Council, civil society organisations, the media and a few other apolitical groups would be saddled with overseeing the appointments of the people manning such key agencies.
“If such appointees emerge through such a process not involving the president, their commitments would be to the people rather than the president,” he said.
Commenting on the two years in office of President Bola Tinubu, he said that, looking at the act of governance, one should first have a self-introspection.
Mr Sani, who contested the 2023 presidential election with Mr Tinubu, said governing a country is not easy.
“My approach to assessment of the president is to first ask, as the head of one’s family, how are you able to manage your home?
“From that perspective, I will say that Tinubu has done very well, because we are still one country, experiencing relative peace, not minding the skirmishes and challenges from the bandits, terrorists and other criminal elements.
“But things are not totally alright, in that there are certain things he ought to have done or should have been doing that he is not doing yet,” he said.
Mr Sani said Mr Tinubu had come a long way as a democrat, noting that he fought several battles for the enthronement of democracy and should be exemplary in his leadership style.
“Some of us expected that his coming should be an Eldorado for our democracy. Like you are aware, during the last presidential election, which I also contested, I was as well holding the position of national chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC).
“During the collation of the results of the presidential election, INEC, at a point, was no longer following the rules, and the process was about to be truncated because the opposition had wanted a stop to the collation,” he said.
Mr Sani said that although his advice made him lose his position as the IPAC chairman, seeing the continuation of democracy in the country today had remained his joy.
He, however, called for a leadership style that would reflect the true meaning of democracy in the country.
(NAN)
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