Abuja -Justice Mohammed Uwais, former Chief Justice of Nigeria, on Monday in Abuja said the credibility of the 2015 general elections had changed the negative mindset of Nigerians towards the country’s electoral processes.
Uwais made the observation while delivering a speech at a National Conference on 2015 General Elections in Nigeria: the Real Issues, organised by The Electoral Institute (TEI).
TEI is an organ of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) responsible for training and electoral research.
He said that election mindset was the critical element that determined the success of electoral practices of any country.
“The electoral mindset of Nigerians has hitherto been negative.
“I am of the opinion that the credibility of the 2015 general elections has affected, if not changed the election mindset of generality of Nigerians, ” Uwais said.
Uwais said although the 2015 general elections was adjudged free and fair, there were still some obstacles to scale.
“Some of the outstanding obstacles are highlighted in the report of the electoral committee of which I was honoured to chair between 2007 to 2008.
He said ‘new ones raised their heads during the 2015 general elections, like the operations of the card reader.
In her remark, Hajia Amina Zakari, the acting Chairman of INEC, said the commission believed that it had a lot to learn from stakeholders to improve on its shortcomings and weakness.
Zakari, who was represented by the chairman of TEI Board, Lawrence Nwuruku, said INEC’s focus was to design and implement electoral policies and proffer solutions that would win public trust.
“The citizenry can only trust an electoral umpire that is able to deliver electoral service creditably well.
“We are happy that citizens’ trust in the commission has been rekindled and faith in the electoral process is becoming stronger,” Zakari said.
Prof. Abubakar Momoh, the Director General of TEI, said given the contentious nature of the 2015 general elections, INEC believed in the need to give stakeholders chance to re-examine the entire process.
The process, according to Momoh, includes the conduct of INEC, political parties, politicians and civil society organisations, security personnel, the media and election observers.
“Our goal is to provide a platform for Nigerians to provide the fist intellectual pronouncement and verdicts on the elections, rather than allow foreign scholars to take a lead in this regard,” Momoh said.
He said during the 2015 general elections, TEI trained about 800,000 personnel, both permanent and ad hoc staff, including security personnel.
He added that the institute was consciously building an e-library funded by Ford Foundation, “and we hope to make it open to the public through membership subscription”.
Prof. Adele Jinadu of the Department of Political Science, Babcock University, called for the introduction of rules that would enhance speedy disposition of election petitions in Nigeria.
Jinadu said such regulations should shift the burden of proof from the petitioners to INEC to show that disputed elections were indeed free and fair.
“The use of electronic voting machines is also recommended for future elections, but done gradually and after a period of testing and experimentation,” Jinadu added.
Other recommendations by the don include unbundling and reorganisation of INEC, integration of State Independent Electoral Commission into INEC for greater efficiency and the need for internal democracy among political parties. (NAN)
