Introduction.
It is exactly 22 days from now
to the long awaited Governorship election in Anambra State; which is slated to
take place on the 6th day of November 2021. It is glaringly clear that there
have been a lot of inter-political defections by Politicians, Stake holders and
some other important personalities (creme de la creme) in Anambra State. This
defections borders on the fact that many of them have defected to the All
Progressives Congress and there is a possibility that some persons are also
going to defect before the day of the election. A vital part of these political
defections gained momentum when some All Progressives Grand Alliance ( APGA)
members of the Anmabra State House of Assembly, who expressed interest in
contesting for the office of the Governor, and went further to purchase the
expression of interest form, for a whooping sum of 22 million naira each, were
unjustly disqualified by their party, then their appeal to the National Working
Committee was treated with lackadaisical attitude, as a result of lack of a leveled playing ground for all the contestants. As if it was not the end, the
former Campaign Director for the All Progressives Grand Alliance flag bearer
Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo in the person of Hon. Ifeanyi Ibezim and Dr. Nkem
Okeke the current deputy Governor of Anambra dumped APGA for APC.
In view of above stated facts,
could it be said that the APC is going to take over Anambra State as the
massive defection critically allings with thier " IGWEBUIKE " ( The
Populace is strength) mantra? In this article paramount issues that caused the
massive defections that are against the ostensible principles of democracy
shall be highlighted in chapter one , a brief analysis and criticism of the
case of Engr. Sulieman Aliyu Lere v. APC (2020) 1NWLR pt (1705) 254. will be
made in chapter two, the right to the freedom of association enshrined in
section 40 of the Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (CFRN)
as amended will be used to buttress and support the defections in chapter three,
suggestions will be made that will remedy the defects in the case law stated
above in chapter four, in Chapter five, which will be the conclusion; the
possible outcome of the Anambra State gubernatorial elections shall be
predicted.
Chapter one.
Nigeria is amongst the countries
in the world that practices a democratic system of government. In the
dictionary definition, democracy "is government by the people in which the
supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their
elected agents under a free electoral system." In the phrase of Abraham
Lincoln, democracy is a government "of the people, by the people, and for
the people."Today, the most common form of democracy, whether for a town
of 50,000 or nations of 50 million, is representative democracy, in which
citizens elect officials to make political decisions, formulate laws, and
administer programs for the public good. In the name of the people, such
officials can deliberate on complex public issues in a thoughtful and systematic
manner that requires an investment of time and energy that is often impractical
for the vast majority of private citizens.
Some elements of a democratic
system of government include: Sovereignty of the People, guarantee of basic
human rights, free and fair elections, equality before the law, right to vote
and be voted for. It is pertinent to say that what transpired in Anambra State
some months back as regards the unjust disqualification of some Members of the
Anambra State House of Assembly of the All Progressive Grand Alliance party, (
APGA) who expressed their interest to contest in the upcoming gubernatorial
elections on the 6th of November 2021; did not follow the basic principles of
democracy as is practiced.
The Constitution of The Federal
Republic Of Nigeria 1999 as amended is explicit in section 177
S. 177 A person shall be
qualified to contest for the office of the Governor of a State if
(a) He is a citizen of Nigeria
by birth
(b) He has attained the age of
thirty-five years
(c) He is a member of a
Political Party and is sponsored by that political party and;
(d) He has been educated up to
at least school certificate level or it's equivalent .
It is really unfortunate that
the Interested aspirants that were unjustly disqualified met the requirements
stipulated by the Constitution which is the mother of all laws, except the
clause in paragraph c which is as a result of the unjust disqualification. Their right to vote and be voted for was unruly truncated as a result of
selfish interests. The delegates of APGA that were meant to vote at the primary
election were also short changed because the disqualification of their
preferred candidate automatically barred them from exercising their democratic
rights. Assuming but not considering that some persons argue that as they were
presently occupying offices at the House of Assembly, therefore, they were not
entitled to contest and even going to the extent of purchasing the expression
of interest form with a whooping sum of 22 million naira each was a waste of
money and resources. Then comes the pertinent question, whether the
Constitution stipulates that a current holder of political office of the state
House of Assembly is prevented from contesting for the office of the Governor
and why did the Party not reject the money used in buying the forms as a result
of their ineligibility to contest? What happened in APGA was simply a Political
Fraud! Which caused the massive and unprecedented defections witnessed in
Anambra today to the extent that the ward chairman of the incumbent Governor
His Excellency, the executive Governor of Anambra State Dr. Wille Mmaduaburo
Chukwu Obiano dumped APGA for APC.
It is correct to say that the
selfish interests of some stake holders is what is causing problem in the APGA
political party, and with the way things are going the "IGWEBUIKE "
effect which is the mantra of the All Progressives
Congress (APC) is taking the
course.
Chapter two
The Supreme Court of Nigeria
which is the apex court of the land, on the 13th day of June 2020, laid down a
dangerous precedent in the case of Engr. Sulieman Aliyu Lere v. APC 2020 (1)
NWLR (PT 1705) 254 in that case the court held that the disqualification of an
Aspirant by a political party is non-Justifiable.
"Candidates are expected to
obtain expression of interest and nomination forms, present their certificates
for verification and appear before a Screening committee. This is the stage at
which the domestic or internal affairs of the political party are not justifiable. The courts will not dabble into how a member of the party is
screened, or why a member was not cleared by the party to contest the
primaries. Put in another way, before a member of the party is cleared, the
party has the power to disqualify their member, and is answerable to no one
including the courts. A dissatisfied member's remedy is to leave the party and
seek his political ambitions somewhere else." Page 285, Per Rhodes-Vivour,
JSC
With due respect I disagree with
the judgement of the Supreme Court laying hold to the Constitution of The
Federal Republic of Nigeria, particularly in section 6 paragraph (b) of the
Constitution Of The Federal Republic Of Nigeria 1999 as amended. Which states
6. The Juicial powers vested in
accordance with the foregoing provisions
(b) Shall extend, to all matters
between persons, or between government and authority and to any person in
Nigeria, and to all actions and proceedings relating thereto, for the
determination of any question as to the civil rights and obligations of that
person.
It is apparent from the above
stated provision of the constitution, that the decision of the Supreme court
was given "per incuriam" the court erred by giving Political Party
enormous powers that will perpetually cause conflict in the Nigerian political
system as politicians will use it as an opportunity to unleash political
vendetta on themselves. The use of the word shall in the said provision means
that the courts are mandated to look into any type of matter that is brought to their desk. See [People v. O'Rourke, 124 Cal. App. 752, 759 (Cal. App. 1932)]
as they are the last hope of the common man and thereby consolidating on the
principle of law that justice must not only be done, but manifestly be seen to
be done! It is correct to say that the decision of the Supreme Court in the
above stated case amounts to an ouster clause in the present day democratic
regime. The only difference between that decision and the decrees of the
military regime like decree no 1 of 1983 is that they were both issued out by a
civilian and a military man respectively.
Owing to the nature of hierarchy
of laws in the Nigerian Legal System, it is correct to say that the judgment of
the Supreme Court though a law on it's own is subject to the Constitution which
is the grundnorm and the mother of all laws. This is the reason why the draftsman in their wisdom included the Supremacy clause in section 1 subsection
(3) of the Constitution which states that if any other law is inconsistent with
the provisions of the Constitution, that other law shall be null and void to
the extent of the inconsistency. Therefore the decision of the Supreme Court in
the above mentioned case can be said to be inconsistent with the provisions of
section 6 paragraph (b) of the CFRN 1999 (as amended) and is thereby null.
Chapter three
The Constitution of the Federal
Republic Of Nigeria 1999( as amended) under chapter four and specifically in
section 40 provides for the freedom of association.
S 40. Every person shall be
entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons , and in
particular he may form and belong to any political party, trade union or any
other associations for the protection of his interest.
It is logically correct to
conclude that the defections in Anambra State are legally acceptable by the constitution.
The opinions of the masses that are against the recent defections is a matter
of their own concerns and can be primarily attributed to party sentiments.
Permit me to also refer us to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights
in article 10 sub 1 which states that (1)
every individual shall have the right to free association, provided he abides
by the law
Based on the foregoing the
political gladiators that are migrating from All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to All Progressive Congress ( APC) are just playing the game of politics,
thereby buttressing the age long mistaken belief that politics is a dirty game.
The truth remains that politics is and can never be a dirty game as was stated
in the words of Hon. Justice Niki Tobi of the blessed memory in the case of
Abubakar v. Yar' Adua (2009) All FWLR (Pt. 457) 1@159G
Politics as it is played in Nigeria
leaves much to be desired. There is so much acrimony, bitterness and violence.
Nigerians play politics as if they are in a battle field. It is not so. I do
not agree that politics is a dirty game. It is a decent game; only that some
Nigerians make it dirty. The problem in Nigeria is the politics of winner takes
it all. Another problem is the gain from it. I will suggest that politics
should be made less attractive. If that is done, there will be less fight,
acrimony and bitterness.
The learned Justice bared his
soul in the above stated excerpt of his, and equally gave suggestion to the
possible solution of political halotry in Nigeria. This calls on the government
of the day to do the needful in seeing to the fact that politics is made less
flamboyant in Nigeria so that accountability and good governance will be the
order of the day in the realm of leadership of the nation at large.
Chapter four
The dangerous precedent set by
the Supreme Court in Engr. Sulieman Aliyu Lere v. APC 2020 (1) NWLR (PT 1705)
254 , could be the basis the screening committee of the All Progressives Grand
Alliance (APGA) used to disqualify their members who they saw as threath to
their clandestine consensus candidate whom is now their current flag bearer.
However, in as much as the
decision of the Supreme Court was given "per incuraim" it can equally
remedy the effect when next similar facts and issues comes before it for proper
adjudication. The Supreme Court is the only court that can over rule itself. In
the case of Nigeria, the Supreme Court can overrule itself under certain
circumstances and upon certain conditions. This has been supported in Stanbic
IBTC Bank Plc v L.G.C Ltd (2020) 2 NWLR (Pt 1707) 1. In this case, the Supreme
Court Per Abba Aji held inter alia that the Supreme Court has the power to set
aside its judgment and must do that under certain conditions. These conditions
include:
(1) Where there is a clerical
mistake in the judgment or order;
(2) Where there is an error
arising from an incident slip or omission;
(3) Where there arises the
necessity for carrying out it own meaning and to make its intentions plain;
(4) When any of the parties
obtain judgement by fraud or decit;
(5) Where such decision is a
nullity;
(6) Where it is obvious that the
court was misled into giving the decision under a wrong belief that the parties
consented to it;
(7) When the judgement was given
without jurisdiction;
(Where the procedure adopted was
such as to deprive the decision or judgement of character of a legitimate
adjudication;
(9) Where the writ or
application was not served on the other party or there is denial of fair
hearing;
(10) Where the decision is
contrary to public policy and will perpetuate injustice.
An insightful study of the above
stated case law and relying on the principle of the rule of law that hinges on
the supremacy of the Constitution. It is my humble opinion that the Supreme
Court should do justice to any other case that involves the disqualification of
aspirants by their political parties on baseless grounds like the one used to
disqualify Hon. Carter Dike Nnamdi Umeh ( PhD) , representing the good people of
Aguata 1 Constituency, whom also is the Chairman of the House Committee on
Health matters. With some of his colleagues that aspired to contest in the
gubernatorial elections.
Defiance and insubordination to
Party authority and Supremacy, which cast a dark shadow of doubt on the
genuineness and credibility of his APGA membership. Considered as an unsuitable
APGA member to participate in the primary election. Let me restate it that the
clause above is baseless and contrary to what the Constitution stipulates for
the qualification of any person to contest for the office of the Governor in
section 177 of the Constitution of The Federal Republic Of Nigeria 1999 (as
amended). If any other similar opportunity presents itself to the apex courts,
it should use it as a means to correct itself.
Chapter five.
Conclusion
In summary, looking at the
Nigerian legal and political systems, it is obvious that it allows and adorns
political defections; which confirms what the law says about the freedom of
association. In the Nigerian political field, what is happening in Anambra
State is not a new challenge in the sense that political defections had been
the order of the day in the Nigerian political system. The defections of the
then Senate President of Nigeria, Distinguished Senator Bukola Saraki, the
defection of Senator God's will Akpabio of Awka Ibom State and some other
persons few months to the 2019 general elections buttresses this fact. In
Senator Ifeanyi Ubah's case, he left APGA and floated his own political party Youth
Progressive Party (YPP) on 7 june 2017 and won Senatorial seat with it.
Owing to the twist and turn that
had grapped APGA, in the past few months as a result of it's internal crisis
that started when Hon. Chukwuma Umeoji former Chairman of Aguata Local
Government Area and former aspirant to the office of the Governor of Anambra
State; who could not take the humiliation resulting from his unjust
disqualification; decided to take the party to court and so many suits that was
filed against the National Chairman of APGA Dr. Ozonkpu Victor Ike Oye,
contesting the validity of his Chairmanship, could it be said that APGA is a
house divided against itself.?
The recent " IGWEBUIKE
" effect the APC mantra is really a tusami and has drastically improved
within a short period of time it was birthed by Distinguished Sen. Andy Uba the
Governorship aspirant and the flag bearer of the All Progressive Congress in
Anambra State. Could it be said that his time has come?
In the light of the recent
killings by the unknown gunmen in Anambra State which created a lot of tension
that warranted the Hon. Attorney General of the Federal Abubakar Malami, SAN,
to suggest that a state of emergency will bring to an abrupt end to the
extrajudicial killings going on in Anambra State. Could it be said that the
government of the center wants to grab Anambra State through mischievous
political tactics or they just want to live up to expectations of protecting
the lives and property of the people of Anambra State and in accordance with
the social contract theory?
Finally, considering the
incessant sit at home orders issued by the Proscribed Indigenous people of
Biafra, (IPOB) one may ask what will be the fate of Anambra State on the 6th of
November 2021. Looking at the fact bordering on the massive defections, sit at
home orders, imminent declaration of state of emergency if the killings gets
out of hand and the already existing fear that has been instilled in the minds
of the electorate that will come to vote on that day. One can say that election
may or may not hold in Anambra State.
About the author:
The name of the author is
Vincent Nnebedum Esq.
A lawyer, writer, entrepreneur,
advocate of good governance, lover of sports and is highly disciplined.
Contact: +2348132837960
email:
[email protected]
Instagram @
sir_nnebedum_official