Human rights lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has called on the National Assembly to set up a special committee to scrutinise the judgment of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court with a view to amending the Electoral Act 2022.
Adegboruwa, who made the call while reacting to the Supreme Court judgment affirming the election of President Bola Tinubu, in the February 25 presidential election, held that failure of INEC to upload election results on iREV led to loss of public confidence in the electoral process.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said the Commission failed Nigerians to deliver on its promises to conduct a credible election in the 2023 general elections.
Although he described the Supreme Court judgment on the election petitions as sound in law and accords with the relevant statues on the issue, he queried what would be the punishment of INEC who failed to conduct credible election.
Adegboruwa said, “The Supreme Court held that failure by INEC to upload election results on iREV leads to loss of public confidence in the electoral process.
“The Court however held that such failure will not lead to the nullification of election results. The judgment is sound in law and accords with the relevant statues on the issue.
“What then is the penalty for the electoral umpire that failed Nigerians upon its own voluntary undertaking? Because INEC is still busy assuring Nigerians that future election results will be transmitted electronically.”
“So many public officers attended court to listen to the judgment, leading to loss of manpower. When a politician is appointed into a public office, he ceases to be partisan but becomes an officer of the federal republic.
“Public officers abandoning their official duties to attend court proceedings in which they play no official role should be discouraged.
“The National Assembly should set up a special committee to scrutinise the judgment of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court for the purpose of amending the Electoral Act 2022.”
