This columnist doesn’t know whether Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, the newly installed Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, has ever read “The Godfather” by Mario Puzo. In that famous novel, Vito Corleone, the godfather, while making peace with the dons of the other mafia families, after a failed attempt to assassinate him, gave a near impossible condition for peace to reign. He told his bewildered underworld colleagues: “I am a superstitious man, a ridiculous falling, but I must confess it here.”
He went on: “And so if some unlucky accident should befall my youngest son, if some police officer should accidentally shoot him, if he should hang himself in his cell, if new witnesses appear to testify to his guilt, my superstition will make me feel that it was the result of the ill-will still borne me by some people here. Let me go further. If my son is struck by a bolt of lightning I will blame some of the people here.”
Corleone furthered on his terms of peace: “If his plane should fall into sea or his ship sink beneath the waves of ocean; if he should catch a mortal fever, if his automobile should be struck by a train, such is my superstition that I would blame the ill-will felt by people here. Gentlemen, that ill-will, that bad luck, I could never forgive.” As this writer read the encomiums that followed the distinguished professor of law, Joash Amupitan, to the exalted position of INEC chairman, the words of Don Corleone, reverberated.
With his curriculum vitae, reading like a book, Amupitan, became the darling of hitherto die-hard antagonists of the nomination of INEC chairman, by a sitting president. In the senate, he spoke with such eloquence and candescence that after two hours, when the senate president following a motion, put a voice vote, whether Amupitan should be allowed to bow and go, the ayes had it. The few nay-sayers were not outraged, for they merely wanted an opportunity to speak to the legal giant.
Within the civil society, the story was rife that Professor Amupitan was a member of the team of Senior Advocates of Nigeria that defended the president after the 2023 general election. Without engaging in any research, those who dominate the civil space with their diatribes swore that the 2027 presidential election was already compromised, before the due date, and they were determined to use all means available to them, to oppose the nomination of Amupitan, being the godfathers of the civil space.
Luckily for Amupitan, he was not a member of the team of SANs and he was in no way connected to the president. Indeed, there is also no evidence that he is connected to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). As a result, the nay-sayers have shown willingness to give him the benefit of doubt, as the new INEC helmsman. But while not a pessimist, this writer wonders how long the honeymoon with the self-appointed godfathers will last?
So, far, in his statements, Amupitan appears to have struck the right cords. He said to his staff: “we should not compromise our values or processes that could have consequences. So the integrity of our elections is not even something we should negotiate, please.” He also said: “Mr. President, in his remark, also echoed the same, that we should do everything possible as we go into an Anambra election to give this country a free, fair and credible election.” He also promised that staff welfare will be a priority, since much will be expected from them.
But does the 1999 constitution (as amended), and the Electoral Act, 2022, give the INEC chairman the powers to guarantee a free, fair and credible election? According to paragraph 14(1) The Independent National Electoral Commission shall compromise the following members: – (a) a Chairman, who shall be the Chief Electoral Commissioner; and (b) twelve other members to be known as National Electoral Commissioners.” Section 14(3) further provides: – “There shall be for each State of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, a Resident Electoral Commission….” None of those are appointed by or can be sacked by the chairman.
Among other ancillary responsibilities, paragraph 15 provides: – “The Commission shall have power to – (a) organize, undertake and supervise all elections to the offices of the President and Vice-President, the Governor and Deputy Governor of a State, and to the membership of the Senate, the House of Representatives and the House of Assembly of each State of the Federation.” While the duties are expansive, there are no legal provisions to guarantee the necessary powers to perform the functions.
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For instance, INEC is not self-financing. It has to rely on the Federal Executive Council and National Assembly to get the necessary finances to perform the functions. While Section 3(3) of the Electoral Act, 2022, provides: “The election funds due to the Commission for any general elections are to be released to the Commission not later than one year before the next general election”, there is no provision that what is released must be adequate or according to the demands of the commission.
The commission also does not have control over the nation’s underdeveloped infrastructure. While distribution of materials and collation of results from the towns and nearby villages can easily be dealt with by the commission, what can it do with remote parts of the country, some of which have no access roads or difficult means of connection? Will those clamouring that all election results be transmitted electronically real time, hold Amupitan responsible if it became practically impossible to do so?
While sensitive electoral materials are usually delivered very close to the day of election and handed over to the electoral officers on the morning of election from secure custodies, would Amupitan be held accountable if there are no vehicles, or boats or even light aircrafts to ferry an electoral officer or some sensitive materials or results after the election, to and from the election any centre scattered across the length and breadth of our expansive country?
With majority of the political actors grossly undisciplined, how would Amupitan rein in, those who seek to compromise the electoral officers or use brutal force to determine the outcome of the results, in several far flung voting centres across the country? Should the security agencies get induced to compromise in one of such remote places, would the INEC chairman be held accountable? While this column looks forward to further improvements in our elections, under Amupitan, there are enormous challenges bedevilling elections in our country.
Unfortunately, like Vito Corleone, the godfather, many Nigerians are superstitious when judging the INEC chairmen. For such people, it is only when their preferred candidates win that they accept that elections are free, fair and credible.
