THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION PETITION TRIBUNAL JUDGEMENT. – Matters arising. By Willie Amadi.

I write as a professional in politics and the views expressed herein are personal and advisory.

In the countdown to the 2023 general elections, parties were upbeat and candidates were sure of victory. The unusual rave of the moment ferociously driven by the social media and the youths was about the Labour Party and her candidate Peter Obi. The People Democratic Party came out divided with an old war horse, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar whose nemesis became Nyesom Wike who led the G-5. The New Nigeria People’s Party owned by an articulate politician Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso navigated without steam. The ruling party APC, became a “dog eat dog” party throughout the race for the party presidential primaries. Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu defied all political logic and permutations and wrestled down the stubborn and ravaging Villa cabal who acted a script written by the mischievous and consciously confused manor of the Villa. Tinubu grabbed the ticket, seized it and eventually ran to victory amidst hue and cry.

All these four major political parties approached the Nigerian electorates with their manifestos with the hope that the regulatory body the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC will be independently independent, so that their votes will also count.

The presidential election presented a scenario that was akin to Iraq-Iran war in several States. The regulatory body became the fifth political party. INEC was neutral in favour of one of the four. There were programmed selective accreditation, collation and returns of both electronic and hard copy results. These results were vehemently contested in the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal by an assemblage of the best legal brains and learned silks in the country with each legal team sincerely living with the highest Hope of victory except NNPP who believed that the power change to PBAT was the “will” of God.

The litigating parties had the most hectic pre- election challenge of accessing certified true copies of form EC8A results and other documents needed to front load their petition since filling was time sensitive. They paid the necessary fees to INEC accompanied with their applications for joint inspection of documents but were technically denied access even when the tribunal had ordered INEC to allow litigants immediate access to their documents. Interestingly, after frustrating the litigants who eventually obtained a few of the required certified documents for their witnesses and front loaded them, the same documents certified true copies by INEC itself were objected by the same INEC during the proceedings. A case of challenged DNA.

The proceedings were hitch free with the occasional banters and jokes between the bench and the bar. The 6th September judgement date was a day to remember as new jurisprudential precedents emerged from the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal which of course is subject to the concurrence of the Supreme Court within 60 days of the date of the PEPT judgement coming up before the 5th of November 2023.

I will attempt to critically analyse some of the ‘ratio decidendi’ behind the judgement of the PEPT as it relates to 25% requirement, pre- election matters, BEVAS and IReV, duration of tribunal and court adjudication, further amendments of the Electoral Act and the good governance goal.

1. FCT 25% REQUIREMENT.

The PEPT in her judgement interpreted the 25% constitutional provision to mean that FCT is not distinct from the other 36 States of the Federation and therefore the “and“ clause in the constitution was inclusive and not exclusive. Contrary to the this judgement, I am of the considered opinion that the spirit and intendment of the legislature and the draftsman was to create a special status for the FCT, being an amalgamation and a representation of all interests of Nigerians living and doing business in Nigeria. However, the draftsman inelegantly created this lacunae and the provision became ambiguous thereby rendering it completely vulnerable to the whims and caprices of the judicial interpreters and interests other than the law. I strongly suggest that the section should be amended to make it clearly and unambiguously specific either way.

2. PRE-ELECTION MATTERS.

If the purpose and desire of election is to have elected men and women of character and knowledge in governance, then the scrutiny of the aspirants and candidates should not be limited to the political parties and the candidates. Secondly, there should be no time limit to challenging the information presented by any aspirant or candidate to an election as crime has no limitation of time for interrogation, arraignment and punishment. I also hold the view that the Electoral Act and the constitution should be amended to give a window for a continuous interrogation and litigation on constitutional requirements to contest any elective position in Nigeria. More importantly our judges should apply the mischief rule to correct the mischief inherent in drafting with their pronouncements. This will develop our electoral laws without going through our politician lawmakers who may not want to amend it for selfish reasons. Therefore, any citizen including political parties and fellow contestants are free to challenge and litigate on the qualification of winners from the day they are sworn into office till the day they leave office.

3. BEVAS AND IReV.

The PEPT had ruled that the BEVA and IReV electronic transmission and collation were mere procedures which was neither a creation of the the Electoral Act nor the 1999 Constitution as variously amended and therefore was not a mandatory provision which ought to render the results void for lack of its application and or substantial compliance by INEC. I align myself to this judicial reasoning but to the extent that the powers given to INEC by the Electoral Act to adopt the procedure that will enable her produce a transparent and independent delivery of its assignment should place a level of legal responsibility on INEC in the event of proven deliberate compromise as in the “glitch magic narrative”. An amendment for the mandatory use of BEVAS and IReV as a means of accreditation, transmission and collation of results in conjunction with the procurement of hard copies is recommended if we do not want a repeat of the moonlight story in 2027. This will provide a second layer protection against human manipulation of the processes leading to the voting, collation and declaration of winners in the election as obtained in other democracies.

4. DURATION FOR DETERMINATION OF PETITIONS.

The incumbency factor is a manure to injustice and gives a humongous advantage to the controversial winners of election at all levels. Election petitions ought to be disposed before the swearing into office by assumed winners. This level playing field to all the contestants will be the icing on the cake of independent electoral process after the use of BEVAS and IReV ceases to be a procedure but a legal requirement under the Act. But can the 10th Assembly or our Infallible Supreme Court risk making it a legal requirement for the overall good of the electoral process ?

5. GOOD GOVERNANCE GOAL.

There can never be good governance without strong instructions. It has never happened anywhere in the world. Nigeria now has sick institutions administered by weak, greedy and bold and courageous corrupt administrators which was manifestly noticed during the immediate past administration which came in under the mantra of change and corruption. If the POLICE, INEC and the JUDICIARY are STRONG the financial and electoral problems will be near to non existent. Who will bail the cat ?

Having interrogated the above, I am moved and tempted to observe without prejudice to anyone that the 2023 Presidential election presented unique, effervescent events and ending unlike the previous ones. First, the level of youth participation, awareness and consciousness was at its peak. Their choices of Presidential candidates were based solely on conviction rather than religion or ethnicity. They were whole and entire and in one voice. They were determined to prove that they are the leaders of today and no longer of tomorrow. They fine resolutely fine tuned the “ENDSARS” initiative this time through the use of ballot papers but unfortunately Nigeria was not ready to handover power to them without any formal engagement and agreement. The majority of the youths from the six geopolitical zones in their wisdom believed that Peter Obi represented their mindset of a modern mentor President of Nigeria while the cabal and owners of Nigeria thought differently.

Interestingly, while the youths were in one breath and accord for their preferred presidential candidate, the cabal had different sublime agenda and choices and in their hubris and selfish interests fell into the hot hands of a political master strategist who for the first time in the history of the Nigerian Presidency delivered himself with his money, contact and strategies without the endorsement of a God father leading other Cabals.

Unfortunately, the fox with ten lives was among the candidates. He had fought the status quo during the NADECO days in 1990s. He has been bruised and battered. He has been abused and accused of everything under the sun including being a Melchizedek of the Bible. He is invisible but always available at the right time and season. He has been Senator and Governor. A leader’s leader. He has been a kingmaker of Presidents of both failed “HOPE 1993” and successful “CHANGE 2005”. He is a phenomenal genius with very kind and humane mentoring spirit. He is Humble and Social without antagonising spirit but rather with his eyes on the ball .

This man called PBAT, I believe prepared for this presidency more than 22 years ago, mentoring and grooming the best brains he could put together in Nigeria ranging from the academia, politics, judiciary and the business community. His net worth is solidly fluid.

Even in the midst of questions about his educational background, he passes as the most educated, exposed and eloquent President of Nigeria both dead and alive. His sterling and scholarly presentation this morning at UNTGA in New York provoked my review of both the judgement of PPT and PBAT. Applying my legal mind, instinct and intuition to the PEPT judgment log 6th September 2023, I am unable to see any major difference in the outcome of the Supreme Court decision on the appeals filed by PDP and LABOUR PARTY except a crossing of the Ts and dotting of the Is with a careful smoothening the rough edges of the judgement of 6th September 2023.

However, since all the Presidential candidates in the 2023 Presidential election believes that power belongs to God/Allah and given to whoever he wants, let us all allow PBAT to breath to enable him recover the country and redirect her multidimensional human and material resources for our common good.

It may be your time but not your turn. 2023 was PBAT’s TIME AND TURN.
It is EMI LÉ KÒ because His Grace has been sufficient despite all machinations against him. It is indeed a “HOPE 93’ RENEWED !!!

Willie Amadi, a lawyer and environmentalist writes from Owerri.