Mr. Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer, laments that “plutocracy has supplanted democracy in Nigeria,” causing “people to lose trust in the democratic process.”
Falana gave a keynote presentation titled “General Elections in Nigeria 2023: A Review of the Nation’s Political Culture and Electoral Integrity” at the 2023 NBA Law Week Event in Benin City, Edo State.
Falana encouraged the NBA to compel INEC to “address the concerns of the late arrival of INEC personnel and ballot materials at the polling stations, malfunctioning BVAS devices, and restricted or non-transmission of the results from the polling units to Results Viewing Portal, IReV.”
“Only 22 million of the 93 million registered voters voted in the presidential election,” he said.
“INEC must also address insecurity at certain polling locations, including violent assaults on voters and officials, voter intimidation, seizing and destruction of voting materials, major incidences of vote-buying, and inadequate access facilities for individuals living with disabilities,” the study states.
The Benin chapter of the NBA should persuade the national body of attorneys to convene a national summit to evaluate the 2023 general elections once the election petition tribunals, the Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court rule on them.
The NBA should invite all key parties to the conference. After the programme, the NBA should work with the judiciary committees of both houses of the national legislature to alter the Constitution and Election Act to institutionalise legitimate elections in Nigeria.
All mass-based organisations must mobilise Nigerians to participate in the democratic process to control their political destiny.
