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By Chekwube Nzomiwu
At a time we are talking about enthroning true federalism in Nigeria, it baffled me to hear the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF)and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi SAN, advocating for the centralisation of the electoral system in the country. Clearly, this is an aberration in a country where people are presently clamouring for the decentralisation of our institutions to reflect our federal structure.
On Monday, Fagbemi advocated for the scrapping of the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) and the transfer of their functions to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). In his opinion, this would ensure independence and transparency in the outcome of local government elections. He spoke in Abuja at the National Discourse on National Security Challenges and Good Governance at the Local Government Levels, organised by the House of Representatives.
Before I proceed with this discourse, let me thank Fagbemi for pushing for the autonomy and democratisation of the councils. Personally, through several newspaper articles in the past, I have been pushing for the same, especially in my home State, Anambra, where Governors have converted the 21 councils into parastatals of the State Government.
Nevertheless, the recommendation of the AGF for the scrapping of the SIECs and the transfer of their functions to INEC, clearly veered off the mark. Nigeria does not operate a unitary system. If we really want transparency in the conduct of local government elections and indeed every other election in Nigeria, rather than further centralise, we should think towards decentralising the entire electoral system.
You see, the truth is that in Nigeria, we are practicing the American Presidential System of Government only on paper. In reality, we do things the Nigerian way. That is why I have refused to join the debate over which system of government is better for Nigeria between, Parliamentary and Presidential System of Government. To me, such a debate is diversionary and unproductive.
The Parliamentary System, which Britain bequeathed to us at Independence, failed in Nigeria after six years because of the Nigerian factor of corruption, combined with tribalism, nepotism and religious intolerance that marred the First Republic. It has survived in Britain for more than 300 years.
We adopted the Presidential System during the Second Republic. It was again marred by the Nigerian factor and its ancillaries. The same thing happened in the truncated Third Republic. We are now in the Fourth Republic and it is still happening. It is on this same premise that I also disagree with former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo that western democracy is not working in Nigeria. How will it work when we do things the Nigerian way?
The Nigerian factor is also the problem with our electoral process. Election is a critical ingredient in a democratic system. We copied out Presidential System from the United States of America, which is seen as the bastion of democracy in the world. In America, the electoral system is highly decentralised. In Nigeria, the electoral system is over centralised. Currently, we have a behemoth called INEC as our national electoral body. The Chairman of INEC, the National Commissioners and Resident Electoral Commissioners are appointed by the President, subject to Senate Confirmation.
As far as election is concerned in Nigeria, the only thing INEC cannot do is to turn a man into a woman. It registers political parties. It registers voters. It determines the guidelines for general elections, releases the timetable and conducts Presidential, National and State Houses of Assembly elections. The same INEC participates in the prosecution of election cases arising from the general elections.
On the other hand, the SIECs are appointed by the Governors, subject to the confirmation of the State Houses of Assembly and they are saddled with the responsibility of conducting local government elections. Why I understand the fears of the AGF regarding the autonomy and independence of the SIECs, scrapping them and transferring their functions to INEC will result in further centralisation of the electoral process.
In the United States, sequel to a process of evolution over the years, the administration of election is decentralised down to the county level. Although US has a multi-party system, the Democratic and Republican Parties are the most influential players. There is no single body like INEC that controls the entire electoral process. Laws passed by the 50 States define the statutory requirements for most elections. With the exception of the Presidential contest that is decided through Electoral College, administrators at the state and local government are responsible for running election, maintaining voter registration records and counting of votes. Each state has an agency that manages elections at the state-level. The procedure for appointing the head of such agency, differs from state to state. At the localities, county governments handle election administration.
As of today, the only national law addressing the issue of election administration is the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 29, 2002. The HAVA creates new mandatory minimum standards for states to follow in several key areas of election administration. It also establishes the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to assist states regarding compliance with the law and to distribute its funds to the states. The other functions of the EAC include creating voting system guidelines, operating the federal government’s voting system certification program, maintaining the National Voter Registration form, conducting research, administering a national clearinghouse on elections that includes shared practices, information for voters and other resources to improve elections
There is also the Federal Election Commission (FEC), an Independent agency of the United States government that enforces campaign finance law. A new party must register with FEC when they raise or spend money over certain thresholds in connection with a federal election. Local party branches do the same under the same condition.
Therefore, if we want to see transparency and independence in the conduct of local government election in Nigeria, we should think of decentralising electoral administration to the local level. The most acceptable definition of democracy attributed to former American President, Abraham Lincoln is “Government of the people by the people and for the people.” Where are the people found? If we must deepen democracy in Nigeria, it must be entrenched at the grassroots. Therefore, the people in the localities should be allowed to drive the process of electing their leaders.
In conclusion, I totally reject the idea to scrap the SIECS and transfer their functions to INEC. On the contrary, laws should be made to strengthen and disentangle them from the apron strings of the Governors. If Fagbemi sincerely means well for the electoral system in Nigeria, what I think he should do is to push for the unbundling of INEC and decentralisation of the electoral system, as well as strengthening of SIECs to make them operate freely and independently. If the SIECs attain a reasonable measure of independence and autonomy, they can be used to conduct State House of Assembly and even federal elections like it is done in the United States.
•Nzomiwu, a policy analyst, writes from Awka, Anambra State.
