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From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has argued that it was wrong for politicians whose electoral victories are contested in court to be sworn in.
HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, at a press briefing, yesterday in Abuja, claimed that most embattled politicians use public funds and the paraphernalia of their offices to challenge court verdicts.
Onwubiko charged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences (ICPC), to probe allegations that the Nasarawa State governor Abdullah Sule, was using public funds to appeal the judgement of the Nasarawa State Election Petition Tribunal, that nullified his victory.
According to him, laws should be enacted by the National Assembly that would mandate distraught governors seeking second tenure should hand over to their deputies or senior officials pending the final judgment of the Apex Court.
Recall that the tribunal led by Ezekiel Ajayi, recognized the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), David Ombugadu, as the rightful winner of the March 18 governorship election in Nasarawa State.
“While HURIWA acknowledges the governor’s right to appeal the decision, it issued a warning against the potential misuse of state funds to finance the appeal and urged Governor Sule not to further deplete the state’s finances by funding a potentially fruitless appeal.
“Instead, the organization called on him to respect the tribunal’s verdict and uphold the principles of democracy.
“HURIWA emphasized that the misuse of public funds for personal political battles is a form of corruption that undermines the principles of good governance and transparency.
“Such actions represent a serious violation of the foundations of democratic governance and ethical conduct, posing a direct threat to Nigeria’s democracy and its essential principles of integrity and accountability,” he said.
He added: “HURIWA called on the Independent and Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to initiate an immediate and comprehensive investigation into Governor Sule’s financial transactions and the utilization of public resources by his administration, stressing that the objective of the investigation is to determine whether state funds have been diverted to finance the governor’s legal campaign and take appropriate action if any wrongdoing is found.
“Furthermore, HURIWA called for significant electoral reforms to address the issue of litigation arising from elections.
“The organization contended that the current practice, where sitting governors are allowed to use state resources to contest election results in court, is detrimental to the democratic process and can potentially lead to financial abuse of state resources.
“HURIWA echoed the views of legal experts such as retired Justice Peter Ige of the Court of Appeal, proposing that the electoral process should be reformed to ensure that all legal disputes related to elections are resolved before the winners are sworn into office.
“This, according to the rights group, would pave the way for a more transparent and accountable electoral system.
“HURIWA suggested that incumbents temporarily hand over power to Chief Justices or Chief Judges, in the case of state governors, while election-related litigation is concluded.
“According to Justice Ige, concluding the post-election matters before the winners are sworn in, would be of mutual benefit to all the stakeholders in the electoral process and adjudication.
“He also stated that pre-election matters should be concluded before the general elections”.
“HURIWA recommended a two-tiered approach to handling election disputes, with the governorship and presidential polls being exclusively handled by the Appeal Court and Supreme Court, while other election-related matters are resolved at regular tribunals, terminating at the Appeal Court.”
