Underage Voting: INEC Has No Constitutional Power To Probe Kano Electoral Commission – VATLAD

Prof. Mahmood Yakubu

An anti corruption group, Vanguard for Transparent Leadership and Democracy (VATLAD) on Monday said that the decision of the Prof. Mahmood Yakubu-led Independent National Election Commission (INEC) to constitute a panel to probe alleged use of underage children to vote in the recently conducted Kano State Local Government Election amounts to deliberate desecration of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, (as amended).

In a statement signed by its National President, Comrade (Engr) Igbini Odafe Emmanuel and made available to BigPen Online on Monday in Warri, Delta state, the group said that INEC has no power anywhere in the Nigerian Constitution to probe conduct of elections conducted by State Independent Electoral Commissions.

Quoting relevant sections of the constitution, the group asserted that the constitution established the separation and Independence of INEC from the State Independent Electoral Commissions with clearly defined distinct functions.

It held that the reported probe had further exposed the desperation of INEC to usurp the constitutional power and independence of State Governments to conduct elections for local government Councils as they deem proper.

According to VATLAD, “whereas we have since May 29, 1999 consistently condemned the frauds called local government elections across the 36 States of Nigeria, this however does not justify any attempt by INEC to unconstitutionally claim supervisory power over States Independent Electoral Commissions.

“Such power does not exist anywhere in Nigerian Constitution unless and until the Nigerian Constitution is urgently and rightly amended to have an INEC/SIEC joint Commission for the conduct of Local Government Elections in order to eradicate these frauds being perpetrated by State Governments, it asserted.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Sections 153(1f) and 197(1b) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended, respectively establish the separation and Independence of INEC and State Independent Electoral Commissions for clearly defined distinct functions.

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Furthermore, it held that by virtue of section 1(2-3) of 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended, any law made or panel constituted by any Government or her Agencies that is inconsistent with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, is to the extent of such inconsistency, null and void, and of no effect.

“This INEC’s panel is therefore a nullity and a deliberate mismanagement of scare funds belonging to the hungry and starving but patriotic 200 million Nigerians”.

VATLAD however called on APC and Kano state Government to reject the purported panel, even as it urged INEC to use it funds to guarantee free, fair and credible elections come 2019 instead of dabbling into illegalities as it attempts to do in Kano State.

“Finally, we call on APC and the Kano State Government to disregard this Panel and outrightly reject it. INEC should concentrate on plans that will guarantee free, fair and credible elections that it is constitutionally empowered to conduct.

“Is INEC in denial of massive frauds in elections it conducts? Why not concentrate its resources and time to correcting these rather than dabbling into illegalities as it attempts to do in this case of Kano State?

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