Groups Want President To Stop Appointing INEC Chairmen

The African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD) and Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) have

demanded a stop to the practice whereby an incumbent president appoints the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its national commissioners.

This was made known at the presentation of a policy brief and memoranda sent to the National Assembly in Abuja.

Centre LSD and WRAPA suggested the composition of an independent panel membership of eight institutions to screen and nominate three persons for the selection and approval of one person by the president and National Assembly.

They recommended that a nominee from the National Judicial Council (NJC) should be the chairman of the screening committee, the one from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), preferably the president should be the co-chairman.

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According to them, members of the panel should include  the president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), National Union of Journalists (NUJ) president, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president while the secretary of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) will serve as the committee’s secretary.

“After a thorough and careful review of the electoral reform proposal by the National Assembly, we humbly draw attention to the ongoing debate surrounding the appointment of the INEC leadership, which necessitates urgent electoral reform.

“As the country faces challenges related to political inequity, voter engagement, and the integrity of electoral processes, the manner in which leaders are appointed to oversee these mechanisms has become critically important.

“Concerns about transparency, neutrality, and potential political influence dominate discussions, with critics asserting that the appointment process is frequently marred by political manipulation, which undermines the commission’s independence and erodes public trust,” they said.