Falana says Buhari breached constitutional provisions in nominating INEC RECs

A senior attorney in Nigeria, Femi Falana has criticised President Muhammadu Buhari and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the nomination of 14 individuals for confirmation as resident electoral commissioners (REC).

Falana claimed in a statement released on Sunday that President Buhari’s nomination of the 14 RECs did not follow the Constitution’s guidelines.

In accordance with the requirements of Section 154 (3) of the Constitution, he claimed that the President had already consulted the Council of State before appointing the Chairman and members of INEC.

Falana said, “On each occasion, the President consulted the Council of State before submitting the names of nominees to the Senate for confirmation in line with Section 154(1) of the Constitution.

“But for some undisclosed reasons, the President has forwarded the nominations of 14 persons for confirmation as Resident Electoral Commissioners without any prior consultation with the Council of State.

“Apart from the constitutional infraction, the list of the nominees has been challenged on the ground that some of them are card-carrying members of the ruling party.

READ ALSO: As an unrepentant member of APC, Onochie not qualified for INEC job —Falana

“At least two other nominees are alleged to be under investigation for serious electoral malpractice. Instead of subjecting the nominees to an integrity test, the Federal Government has dismissed such grave allegations with a wave of the hand.

“Having repeatedly assured the Nigerian people that the administrators will support INEC to conduct credible elections in 2023 we call on President Buhari to withdraw the controversial list from the Senate and ensure that the nominees are investigated by relevant security agencies.

“After security clearance, the president is advised to comply with section 154(3) of the Constitution by consulting the council of state with respect to the qualification and competence of the nominees. It is after the consultation that the names of the nominees that are qualified should be presented to the Senate for confirmation.”

The president had on 26 July sent to the Senate the names of 19 resident electoral commissioners for confirmation. At least four of the 19 nominees allegedly either belonged to a political party or have been previously indicted for corruption.

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