A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Robert Clarke, has called for the amendment of the 1999 constitution to resolve electoral issues in Nigeria. Clarke stated this in an interview on Thursday, blaming incessant electoral litigations on the over-aged 1999 constitution.
This follows the Supreme Court verdict which upheld President Bola Tinubu’s election.
Clarke said, “The problem today is that the system we have, except it is rigorously looked into, we will continue for every four years to do the same thing we are doing for the next 20 years. I started with this constitution in 1999; today, in 2023, there has been no difference. Every four years, we do a roundabout in trekking and come to the same point”.
“We have filed about six election petitions, and the Supreme Court has never set aside any presidential election in Nigeria. Why should they, when the law says whatever the umpire does is, by law, presumed to be right.”
The senior advocate said the 1999 Constitution gave the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) so much power that any documents presented to the tribunal is always upheld.
“That is what is happening. We have to make sure INEC is not given that advantage to present documents and the court has no option but to accept them as correct.”
He demanded the review of the 1999 Constitution to remove that section that says “To be able to contest an election, you must belong to a political party” as most problems are caused by the political parties with their numerous litigations from pre-election to the election as well as post-election.
The Supreme Court affirmed the September 6, 2023, ruling by the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal that upheld the victory of Tinubu.
A seven-judge panel led by Justice John Iyang Okoro ruled that the opposition appeals over claims of fraud, electoral law violations, and Tinubu’s ineligibility to run for president lacked merit.
