Nothing delights me more than the opportunity to rethink our political system to encourage the emergence of a nation that works for all Nigerians. The ongoing Public Hearing on Constitutional Amendment is one of such opportunities. I hope that the Nigerian people and the political elite will engage in this process with the seriousness that it deserves.
The Youth Party (a political organisation that I’m privileged to lead) has submitted its recommendations and made presentations in five of the six geo-political zones of Nigeria, on the proposed alteration to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, during the conduct of the momentous Public Hearing, which ended on Thursday May 27.
The issues proposed by our party include judicial and electoral reforms, local government administration, allocation of funds, state police, gender equality, residency and indigeneship, local government elections and public revenue, fiscal federalism, and revenue allocation, among others.
In our recommendations on gender equity and increased participation of women and vulnerable groups in governance, we are suggesting that a certain number or percentage of women and people with disability should be stated in the Constitution to guide the political parties in the fielding of candidates and also the governors/president in the choice of their cabinet members.
Hence, we recommend the amendment of sections Section 48, 49, 91, 71, 72 to reflect the National Gender Policy by ensuring that 35 per cent of the composition of the national and state parliaments shall be reserved for women, to promote gender diversity. Equally important, on the rights of girls and women, we have recommended that the legal age of marriage be put at 18 years.
On local government administration and autonomy, we recommended the deletion of Sections 3(6), 7(6) (a), 162(5), 8(5) and (6) and 153(1) (f) of the Constitution, which gives unfettered opportunity to the Federal Government to interfere with the power of States over the creation and management of the local government system. Expunging these constitutional provisions will place the local government system in their proper position under a truly federal structure. State governments should also be given the constitutionally guaranteed and unfettered power to create as many local governments as they deem fit.
Furthermore, on the allocation of funds to local governments, the Constitution should expressly void and abolish Section 162(6), which provides for establishing joint accounts by States and local governments. The Constitution should, therefore, ensure direct federal funding of local government councils, without the interference of state governments. Section 3 (6) should also be abolished and deleted from the Constitution to allow for the creation of more local government areas in the country.
On public revenue, fiscal federalism, and revenue allocation, we are recommending that Section 162 (2) of the Constitution, as well as the legislative list, should be amended to allow the states to collect taxes over mineral resources within their territories and the remittance of 25 per cent of such taxes to the Federal Government. The Constitution should be amended to clear the ambiguity over the collection of consumption tax (VAT) by the Federal Government for the benefit of the States. The States should also administer/collect VAT within their territories.
For the creation of State Police, the Youth Party believes that a pilot State Police Programme can be implemented in economically viable states for four years. Furthermore, any State that is desirous of establishing a State Police Department must demonstrate the ability to fund the Department. Also, a State Police Service Commission with clear oversight powers and the ability to discipline erring officers must be established contemporaneously with any State Police Department.
In the event of gross mismanagement or abuse of powers by a State Police Department, the Attorney General of the Federation shall have the powers to approach the Supreme Court for an order directing his or her office to take over the administration of such a State Police Department until the State demonstrates the ability to remedy and prevent the recurrence of the abuse or mismanagement.
Concerning electoral reforms, the Third Schedule, Part 1, Section 14(1)(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 on the mode of appointment of INEC Commissioners and Resident Commissioners needs to have an amendment in order to preserve neutrality and protect the institution from the blatant partisanship currently displayed by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). In partial support of the Uwais Committee Report on Electoral Reforms, we recommend that the National Judicial Council (NJC) be in charge of advertising the positions and screening applicants for vacancies into the positions of INEC commissioners and the Chairman, within 20 days from the date of the expiration of the terms of office of incumbents.
The NJC should then recommend three applicants to the President within 20 (twenty) days from the date of screening. The President should then forward one of the three nominees to the Senate for confirmation within 30 (thirty) days upon receipt of the list.
On the deregistration of political parties, our Party has consistently argued that INEC should approach the courts for the deregistration of parties and state the grounds for their deregistration with sufficient clarity and precision. This power must only be exercised upon obtaining a court order granting leave to exercise the power. This is similar to the position for the disqualification of candidates, winding up of banks, and other similar institutions. The deregistration of a political party is equivalent to taking away the party’s life, and the decision should be left to the court. The disqualification of a candidate from an election as a result of ineligibility, regardless of the evidence, cannot be done by INEC but by the courts. In that case, it is ridiculous that the political party sponsoring him or her can be deregistered administratively.
This is unacceptable and bound to lead to injustice, not to mention the breach of fundamental human rights, freedom of association, and breach of fair hearing, contrary to Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution. The power to deregister a party should be exercised through the Federal High Court. We have had our own fair share of INEC’s disregard for the rule of law, having attempted to deregister our Party despite an order of the court restraining the Commission from doing so. Thankfully, a recent Appeal Court judgment has again ruled in our favour, describing INEC’s action as reprehensible.
Finally, on the issue of the creation of States and local governments, it is our position that this must be based on the economic viability of the aspiring State to meet the financial needs of its people without recourse to the Federal Government or federal allocation. This should be followed by a referendum in the State. A new State must be economically viable, financially sustainable, it must have secured the consent of its residents/indigenes and the existing States that it would be carved from.
I hope that the National Assembly will follow through with a number of the crucial recommendations made by our Party and other organizations. As a country, we cannot afford to miss the opportunity to deliver a constitution that works for the people and supports their aspirations.
The Youth Party has called for urgent action to end the rising violence and insecurity across the country, urging President Muhammadu Buhari to ramp up measures to ensure citizens’ protection of lives and property.
In a statement by its National Chair, Mr. Tomiwa Aladekomo, the party, in solidarity with the National Day of Mourning for victims of insecurity in Nigeria, called for justice for thousands of innocent citizens violently killed across the country on account of insecurity.
Aladekomo, who noted that the continued spate of insecurity in the country had reached an alarming level, said the rising killings were an indication that Nigeria is sitting on a ticking time bomb, which could explode at any point in time if the menace is not quickly addressed.
According to him, “The Youth Party expresses its solidarity with the National Day of Mourning and demands justice and accountability for the security and welfare of all Nigerians, especially victims of this hydra-headed monster called insecurity.
“We are worried over the incessant killings and maiming of innocent citizens, which have festered unabated. While kidnapping and secessionists’ activities persist, bandits and other terrorists have continued killing tens of people daily in the name of farmers’ and herders’ clashes. Still, the authorities remain mute, with no clear direction to tackle the scourge and protect citizens.
“In Benue State alone, over 150 people have allegedly been killed in the last seven days, according to reports. Attacks, which were once spontaneous, have become premeditated scorched-earth campaigns in which marauders now attack villagers and other innocent people by surprise, even in broad daylight, to maim and kill citizens. How else do we describe a failed government? All these killings must stop!”
“We are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari and all elected government officials to, as a matter of urgency, bring to an end the rising violence and insecurity across the country.”
The Senate, National Assembly, Federal Republic of Nigeria Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution’s Zonal Public Hearing on “the Proposed Alteration to the Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999” Public Hearing fixed for Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th May, 2021
24th May 2021
Pursuant to the invitation of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution of 17th May, 2021, in the national dailies to members of the “General Public, Government Functionaries, Civil Society/Interest Groups, Nigerians in Diaspora, Professional Bodies, and other interested persons”, we the members of the Youth Party hereby submit the following proposals for your consideration as part of the review and amendment of the 1999 Constitution on the listed issues :
Gender Equity/Increased Participation of Women and Vulnerable groups in Governance.
The importance of women as part of the Nigerian society cannot be overemphasized. However, their participation in governance has been limited due to cultural and institutional factors that do not sufficiently recognize the need for their involvement in public decision making. Another vulnerable group that needs attention are persons with disability, they are often ignored from the discourse of inclusion in the political system or any other decision-making sphere. The present statistics on women in politics are very worrisome. For instance, the percentage of women in the Nigerian Senate has been below 15% since the Country’s transition to democracy in 1999. Also, out of 360 House of Representatives members, we only have 13 women in the House. This abysmal statistic is not even close to the 30% benchmark set by the United Nations, the Beijing platform for action or even the Maputo protocol.
Recommendation:
We recommend that certain number or percentage of women and people with disability should be stated in the Constitution to guide the political parties in the fielding of candidates and also the Governors/President in the choice of their cabinet members hence;
We recommend the amendment of the following sections Section 48, 49, 91, 71, 72 to reflect the National Gender Policy by ensuring that 35% of the composition of the national and state parliaments shall be reserved for women, to promote gender diversity
We recommend that the appointment of the Federal Executive under section Section 147(3) be amended to include that 35% of such appointments shall be female.
We recommend the amendment of section 223(1) on the composition of Political Parties leadership, by including that the election of the officers or members of the executive committee shall comprise of at least 35% women’s representation.
We recommend that the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy set out in Chapter II of the Constitution; be made justiciable by deleting section 6(6)(c) of the constitution to give effect to socio economic rights that protect women and vulnerable groups.
We also recommend that the legal age of marriage be established at 18 years.
Local Government Administration and Autonomy
Nigeria operates a federal system of Government, a system that envisions a sufficient level of autonomy for every level of government. Amongst this levels of government, the local government, which is the closest to the people and it ought to be an agent of grassroots development and participatory democracy. The Constitution fails to make clear provisions regarding the form of organization for local government, leaving it at the discretion of the state governments. The local government system is so greatly undermined that it cannot effectively play its role as agent of development at the grassroots, in spite of a significant monthly allocations from the federation account.
Recommendation:
2.1. We therefore recommend the deletion of Sections 3(6), 7(6) (a), 162(5), 8(5) and (6) and 153(1) (f) of the Constitution, which gives opportunity to the federal government to interfere with the States’ power over the creation and management of the local government system. Expunging these constitutional provisions will place the local government system in their proper position under a truly federal structure.
2.2. State Governments should be given a constitutional guaranteed unfettered power to create as many local governments as they deem fit.
3.0 Allocation of Funds
Another provision in our political system that undermines local government autonomy involves finance. This issue of finance has grossly undermined the autonomy of the Local government as some local governments cannot access funding for their administration without such funding being vetoed by the State Government. This un-federal feature is provided for under section 7(6) (a) and 162(5).
Recommendation:
3.1 The Constitution should expressly void and abolish Section 162(6) which provides for the establishment of joint accounts by State-Local Government.
3.2 The Constitution should ensure direct federal funding to local government councils without state governments interference.
3.3 Section 3 (6) should be abolished and deleted from the Constitution to allow for more creation of Local Government Areas in the Country
4.0 Local Government Elections
Another area of constitutional concern is the weighty federal control or interference with local government affairs with regard to elections. By virtue of Section 153(1) (f) & the Third Schedule, Paragraph 15 (e) of the Constitution, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), an agency of the Federal Government has powers to arrange and conduct the registration of persons qualified to vote and prepare, maintain, and revise the register of voters “for the purpose of any election under this Constitution”. However, we find this problematic, we therefore recommend that;
Recommendation:
4.1 Amendment of the Third Schedule, Paragraph 15 (e) of the 1999 Constitution (to provide for the performance of that function by the State Independent Electoral Commission when it comes to Local Government Elections). These undermined the powers and responsibilities of the state government on local government under section 7(1) of the Constitution including conducting elections.
4.2 We recommend that the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) must be allowed to carry out every function related to the conduct of election including the revisions of voters register. Hence, SIEC should be vested with the powers to keep voters registered.
5.0 Tenure of Elected Local Government Officials
Another pertinent issue for reconsideration is the constitutional omission of the tenure of the Local Government Council. While the tenure for the President and Governors are expressly provided for, the tenure of the Local Government Council Office Holders is surprisingly omitted.
Recommendation:
5.1We propose that Section 7 of the Constitution should be altered to include a four-year tenure for the all-Local government council office holders.
6.0 Public Revenue, Fiscal Federalism, and Revenue Allocation.
There is no gainsaying that our public service and infrastructure are not working. We need to raise government revenue capacity in order to address these urgent critical spending needs. Nigeria has a huge revenue problem as we are not generating enough but we are spending more. Recurrent expenditure is high, and our debt is piling up. Most importantly, we are not practicing fiscal federalism: with States collecting their revenue and remitting a percentage of it to the FGN. Currently, the FGN collects most of the taxes and then allocates revenue to the other tiers of government. This has led to many distortion in the structure. For example, the states have no incentive to raise their revenue instead they mostly wait for the end of the month to head to Abuja for hand out.
Recommendation:
6.1 Section 162 (2) of the Constitution as well as the legislative list should be amended to allow the states to collect taxes over mineral resources within their territory and remit 25% of such taxes to the Federal Government
6.2 The Constitution should be amended to clear the ambiguity over the collection of consumption tax (VAT) by the Federal Government for the benefit of the States. The States should administer/collect VAT within their territories
7.0 State Police
One of the main duties of government is the security of lives and properties. The Nigeria Police Force is charged with internal security and law enforcement in Nigeria. However, the force is inept with varying issues that need urgent intervention. To ensure the efficiency of the police force, there has been a clamor for States to be allowed to constitute and manage their own State Police Departments.
However, this must be done following a practical roll out plan in order to forestall an exacerbation and multiplication of the current issues with federal law enforcement, at the State level.
Recommendation:
7.1. We recommend that a pilot State Police Program be run in economically viable states for a period of 4 years. Furthermore, any State that is desirous of establishing a State Police Department must demonstrate the ability to fund the Department.
7.2. Also, a State Police Service Commission with clear oversight powers and ability to discipline erring officers, must be established contemporaneously with any State Police Department.
7.3. In the event of gross mismanagement or abuse of powers by a State Police Department, the Attorney General of the Federations shall have the powers to approach the Supreme Court for an order directing his or her office to take over the administration of such State Police Department until the State demonstrates the ability to remedy and prevent the recurrence of the abuse or mismanagement.
8.0 Judicial Reform.
The judiciary is the last hope of the common man and there is no gain saying that the Nigerian judiciary is in urgent need for reform particularly in the composition of the members of the National Judicial Council (NJC), which currently consist largely of serving and retired judges with little room for neutrality over the appointment and discipline of judges.
The National Judicial Council (NJC) is one of the Federal Executive Bodies created by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Amongst other functions, it is responsible for the Appointment, Promotion and Discipline of Judicial Officers.
The current composition of the Council as regards discipline of judges and justices (which includes the Chief Justice of the Federation) creates conflict of interest particularly as it relates to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) who is the Chairman of the NJC and the next most senior justice of the Supreme Court, the Deputy Chairman . It is on record that a situation arose in recent past that borders on discipline of the CJN; the concerned CJN refused to convene meeting of the NJC. It is also interesting that that the Deputy Chairman will be the sole beneficiary if the CJN is found culpable.
It is a common saying and a living fact that justice delayed is no justice. The centralized appellate court system in Nigeria has given birth to more injustice than justice due to delays. It is a known fact that litigants threaten each other with appeals. Our appellate courts are overburdened due to the centralized system.
Recommendations:
No serving justice or judge should be a member of the Disciplinary Committee of NJC.
Court Structure: It is our position that each state should have an independent appellate system to deal with all residual matters and matters which are exclusively for High Courts of States. Thus, each state should have its own court of appeal and supreme court on matters it has exclusive powers to legislate on.
Only, constitutional matters and matters on the exclusive list should go through the federal appellate court system, that is the Federal Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Nigeria.
Each state should have a body modeled after the reconstituted NJC for appointment, promotion and discipline of judges.
9.0 Electoral Reform
Nigeria is a Country riddled with lots of electoral inconsistencies ranging from electoral violence to rigged elections etc. Therefore, several amendments need to be made to improve on the electoral process in Nigeria to allow for credible, free, and fair elections to aid Nigeria’s democratization process.
Recommendation:
9.1 The Third Schedule, Part 1, Section 14(1)(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 on the mode of appointment of INEC Commissioners and Resident Commissioners needs to be amendment for neutrality and the blatant partisanship currently displayed by officials of INEC
9.2 In partial support of the Uwais’ Committee Report on Electoral Reforms, we recommend that:
The NJC should be in charge of the advertising the positions and screening applicants for vacancies into the positions of INEC commissioners and Chairman within 20 days from the date of the expiration of their term of office.
The NJC should then recommend three applicants to the President within 20 (Twenty)days from the date of screening.
The President should then forward the name of one out of the three nominees to the Senate for confirmation within 30 (Thirty) days upon receipt of the list.
Where the President rejects the names on the list sent to him by NJC, the NJC shall conduct another screening in line with (a-c) above.
where the President fails to nominate one out of the second list of nominees to the Senate within 30 (Thirty) days, the NJC shall then nominate one person out of the three and forward to the Senate for confirmation.
9.3 Section 225A of the Constitution for de-registration of political parties should be amended to ONLY apply to political parties that have had the opportunity to participate in all the elections within a 4 (Four) year term. For example, it would be unfair for the aforesaid provisions of the Constitution to apply to political parties registered in 2018, who have not had the same opportunity as the other existing parties to grow. And, most importantly, have not had the opportunity to participate in all the recent elections save for the 2019 General Elections in order to meet the requirement for continued registration.
9.4 INEC should approach the Court for deregistration of Parties and state the grounds for deregistration with sufficient clarity and precision. This power must only be exercised upon obtaining a Court order granting leave to exercise same. This is similar to the position for disqualification of candidates, winding up of banks and other similar institutions. Deregistration is tantamount to taking the life of a Party and the decision should be left to the Court. If the disqualification of a candidate from an election for ineligibility regardless of the evidence cannot be done by INEC but by the Court, it is ridiculous that the political Party sponsoring him or her can be deregistered administratively. This is unacceptable and bound to lead to injustice not to mention breach of fundamental human rights freedom of association and breach of fair hearing contrary to Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution. The power to deregister should be exercised through the Federal High Court.
9.5 Proportional representation be adopted for legislative elections, but the current number of seats in the various houses should be maintained. The constituencies should be redrawn and enlarged so that 2/3rd (two-third) of the current number of seats for each state in the National Assembly for instance, will be spread across the whole State and be filled by plurality voting. The remaining 1/3rd (one-third) of the seats for each State will then be filled using proportional representation. The current system encourages the winner takes all mentality of the political and create a lack of checks and balances in government as the votes of the losing parties not acknowledged
9.6 We agree with the Uwais’ Committee recommendation that election petitions should be concluded before swearing in. However, we recommend that the elections should be held six months before the dates of the swearing-in to ensure the completion of election petitions prior to the date of swearing in. (unresolved)
9.7 We recommend that the SIECs should be retained. The mode of appointment of the Commissioners should be the same as that of INEC. That is, the screening of applicants and recommendation of three candidates to the Governor should be done by the State Judicial Service Commission (SJSC) and the Governor will recommend one out of the three to the House of Assembly for confirmation.
9.8 The current manual voting process should be replaced gradually with electronic voting. In adopting electronic voting, the particular type to be deployed during any election should be approved by the political parties.
10.0 Residency & Indigeneship
The issue of residency and indigene-ship has been a source of perennial violent unrest in many Nigerian cities notably Jos, Kaduna, Ife, and many others. We believe this is because of the ambiguity between the rights of an indigene, resident, and citizen, which creates undue tension.
Recommendations:
10.1 It is our position that a citizen is not a resident of the State unless he has been resident in the State habitually for 4 (Four) years. The Residency should then confer residency rights to enjoy all social amenities within the State.
10.2Most importantly, there should be laws enacted to safeguard the interest of indigenes to reduce the tension between them and residents. The first should be the protection of indigenes through the reservation of a land base, which may not be open to purchase by residents or acquisition by the government when it relinquished its other land areas to the public. This is necessary to safeguard the cultural and traditional way of life of the indigenous members of the state.
10.3 There is a need for national recognition of indigenes within a particular locality. With the constant migration of Nigerians from various parts of Nigeria into different states, there is a tendency for their indigenous way of life or even their identity as original locals of an area to be given up freely as part of the migration from different parts of Nigeria. Therefore, there is a need to safeguard the indigenous culture, including passing on traditional religious beliefs, languages, and social practices without fear of discrimination. A way of promoting this recognition may be through affirmative action where these indigenes who are minority group members are given preference or special consideration in the allocation of resources.
10.4Additionally, in the appointment of cabinet members into the State Executive Councils, consideration must be given to ensure that at least 80% of the cabinet comprises indigenes of the particular state. Specific positions such as the ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and the ministry of Justice, ministry of Education and ministry of Finance should be reserved for indigenes of the state to superintend.
11.0 Immunity- Removal of Immunity in a Prima Facie Case
Political offices are public trusts and persons elected to these offices become public trustees. It is trite that a trustee must be a person of character and integrity to be able to manage whatever the settlor is trusting on to him for the benefit of the beneficiaries. It is therefore our belief that for the advancement of common good and to ensure that only persons of integrity and unquestionable character are elected to public offices, there is need to amend the Constitution to disqualify persons who have pending criminal cases against them from vying for public offices.
Recommendation:
11.1 Section 66, 107, 131 and 177 of the Constitution should be amended to allow INEC to disqualify any candidate who has any pending criminal charge from contesting in any election until he is cleared of all charges – (unresolved).
11.2 Pre-election matters relating to eligibility of candidates should be given the same expeditious hearing and status as election petitions. It should be resolved at the high court and at the Court of Appeal being the final Court before the Election.
11.3 The office of the Attorney General should be separated from that of the Minister of Justice so that the President and Governors will not employ this provision to shut out their political opponents by filing trumped up charges against them through the Attorney General so as to disqualify the person.
11.4 The immunity clause should be left as is to protect the holders of public offices from distraction during their tenure unless they are impeached by the legislative houses on the basis of the establishment of a probable(prima facie) criminal case against the public officers.
15.0 States and Local Government Creation:
The issue of states and local government creation has led to agitations from states and ethnic groups, which makes the need for a widely acceptable criteria imperative
Recommendations:
15.1. It is our position that the creation of additional states must be based on the economic viability of the aspiring state to meet the financial needs of its people without recourse to the Federal Government or federal allocation. This should be followed by a referendum in the State.
15.2 We posit that the process strictly adhered to the requirement for constitutional amendment. That is, 2/3 of the votes by the National Assembly and the State House of Assemblies in 2/3 of the States.
In summary, a new state must be economically viable, financially sustainable, secure the consent of its residents/indigenes as well as the existing States that it would be carved from.
LETTER OF DEMAND TO RELIST YOUTH PARTY IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE JUDGEMENTS OF THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT AND COURT OF APPEAL
The above matter and the unanimous decision of the Court of Appeal on Tuesday, 11th May, 2021, upholding the setting aside of your purported de-registration of our Party refers.
Background
Our Party commenced the process of registration in December 2016 but was not registered until 14th August, 2018, just days before the commencement of primaries for the 2019, general elections. This was despite a judgement of the Federal High Court delivered in October 2017. This affected our ability to perform at the 2019 general elections. Nonetheless, we fielded 11 candidates for House of Representatives and States House of Assembly all over the Country in those elections.
Sometime in late 2019, INEC threatened to deregister the Youth Party (“our Party”). In order to forestall the threatened deregistration, we commenced a court action against INEC in January 2020, at the Federal High Court, Abuja and Judgment was delivered in our favour on 12th October, 2020. Subsequently, INEC appealed against the decision of the Federal High Court, Abuja and the Court of Appeal ruled, through an unanimous Judgment delivered by Hon. Justice T.Y. Hassan, that our purported deregistration was illegal, null and void.
Your Commission is currently refusing to list our Party’s name on your website as a registered Party or allow us participate in any election in any election even in the face of the subsisting judgment, which has not been set aside or stayed. Your Commission is in continuous flagrant breach of the universally and constitutionally protected human rights of our members to Freedom of Association.
The dictum of Honourable Justice I.E. Ekwo of the Federal High Court in his judgment is worth pondering over:
“the Defendant is not above the law. No person or parties to an action is allowed to resort to self help when an action is pending in Court. The claim that the Defendant has power pursuant to S,225A(b) & (c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to de-register a political party does not justify the action of the Defendant while this action is pending. The Defendant must understand that the constitution is not an author of confusion. I condemn the action of the Defendant as a wrong exercise of might. Therefore, the de-registration of the Plaintiff during the pendency of this action by the Defendant is illegal, null and void, and liable to be set aside. Consequently, I hereby make an order setting aside the de-registration of the Plaintiff”
The Court of Appeal in its Judgement was equally unhappy with your Commission in its unanimous Judgment delivered by Honourable Justice T.Y. Hassan,J.C.A., when it held that:
“This Court will not hesitate to sustain the decision of the Lower Court which pulled down and dismantled the edifice that the Appellant built on self help when it deregistered the Respondent not only during the pendency of the Suit but when it had been served with and had reacted to the motion for interlocutory injunction seeking to restrain the Appellant from the very act it helped itself to actualize extra judicially. To say the least, we find the Appellant action very reprehensible, the Lower Court as any court of law would have done, acted correctly by setting aside the dergistration of the Respondent. We have no reason to interfere with the order made by the Lower Court and same be sustained”
We hereby DEMAND that your Commission reverts to its statutorily imposed duty of neutrality as a regulator byacknowledging our Party as a registered Party and by relisting our Party on your website in line with the subsisting Judgments of the Federal High and the Court of Appeal, within 7(Seven) days of the delivery this letter. That is, by close of business Friday, 19th May, 2021.
Be assured of our strong resolve to pursue the continued breach of our human rights to freedom of association to a logical conclusion within the ambits of the law, in the event of your failure to comply with the aforesaid judgments.
It is noteworthy that until the judgment against your Commission is set aside, the position of law is that Youth Party remains a registered political party in Nigeria and it is entitled to all the rights and privileges of a registered political party in Nigeria.
Worried by the spate of attacks on Police Stations and Security formations in Nigeria and Abia in particular, Youth Party, a registered political party in the country as currently reaffirmed by the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Tuesday 11/05/2021, has condemned the attack on police divisional headquarters in Bende LGA of the state on Wednesday night and other police stations by unknown gunmen.
In a statement issued to newsmen in Umuahia by the Party’s State Chairman, Onyekachi Okorie, the party pleaded for a ceasefire from unknown gunmen and urged the government to seek dialogue so as to reduce loss of life and property as well as restore peace in the state.
The party added that no country in the world can realise its full potentials in an atmosphere of chaos, stating that the citizenry is now living in fear ensuing from the various insecurity challenges in the country.
Hon. Onyekachi who stressed the need for Government at all levels to engage the relevant factions fueling these attacks with a view to nipping the situation in the bud also stated the desire of the Youth Party to offer useful advice to the Government on ways to provide quality leadership which according to the Party has been cited as a factor increasing agitations.
The Youth Party won a resounding victory in its bid to ensure that Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) respects the rule of law particularly obedience of judicial decisions.
The Court of Appeal, Abuja, led by Honourable Justice T.Y. Hassan, delivered its unanimous judgement against the Appeal filed by INEC on May 11, 2021.
The Court upheld the decision of the Federal High Court, Abuja, delivered by Honourable Justice I.E. Ekwo that declared the purported de-registration of the Party illegal, null and void ’.
The Court of Appeal also “found the action of the Appellant very reprehensive”.
The judgement at the lower Court was based on the INEC persistent disregard for the law and judicial decisions in failing to register the Party within time stipulated in the law and preventing it from participating in elections illegally. The Electoral umpire failed to register the Party after it got a judgement against it in FHC/ABJ/CS/221/2017 between Chukwudi Adiukwu & Ors V. INEC delivered on 18th October, 2017 until 14th August, 2018, less that 5 days to the commencement of Party primaries in 2018. INEC further resorted to illegal self help by illegally de-registering Youth Party while both of them were before the Federal High Court over the issue.
Furthermore, INEC is currently refusing to list the Party on its website as a registered Party or allow it to participate in any election even in the face of the aforesaid judgement, which had not been set aside or stayed.
Honourable Justice I.E. Ekwo in his judgment held that:
“The Defendant is not above the law. No person or parties to an action is allowed to resort to self help when an action is pending in Court”. The claim that the Defendant has power pursuant to S. 225A (b) & (c) of the 1999 Constitution(as amended) to de-register a political party does not justify the action of the Defendant while this action is pending. The Defendant must understand that the constitution is not an author of confusion. I condemn the action of the Defendant as a wrong exercise of might. Therefore, the de-registration of the Plaintiff during the pendency of this action by the Defendant is illegal, null and void, and liable to be set aside. Consequently, I hereby make an order setting aside the de-registration of the Plaintiff.”
Youth Party has asserted that the party remains a legally registered and fully operational political party in Nigeria as it is not affected by the ruling of the Supreme Court on deregistration of about 74 political parties.
The Youth Party, in a statement by its Chair, Tomiwa Aladekomo, explained that, “the judgement by the Supreme Court was against the National Unity Party (NUP) and does not affect the Youth Party. We remain a legally registered political party.”
According to Aladekomo, “There were three cases against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The NUP case was decided yesterday and there is also a second case that involves 22 parties, which is yet to be decided. The third case is with the Youth Party.
“The most recent judgement in this case filed against INEC was a victory for the Youth Party. The judgement was delivered by Justice Ekwo at the Federal High Court, Abuja on 15th October, 2020, who directed INEC to allow the Youth Party to participate in all elections until 2023. The judgement has not been set aside and has not been stayed. INEC is required by law to obey the said judgment until it is set aside by a court of law.”
He continued: It is important to note that Youth Party’s legal challenge rests on the basis of INEC’s initial refusal to register the party and delayed response to court orders. The Youth Party began the process to register our party in November 2016, a process that should ordinarily take a month or two at most. After INEC refused to register the party under its chosen name, the Party went to court to challenge INEC’s position. We won this case on the 18th October, 2017. Despite the Court’s judgement, INEC did not formally register Youth Party until August 2018, less than two weeks before primaries for the 2019 elections were to begin. This delay of course made competing effectively in the elections near impossible, as it left us almost no time to mobilize.”
He further noted:” To Youth Party’s supporters and the Nigerian people at large, we say that we will continue to fight. We remain a legally registered political party despite INEC’s actions. We believe in the merits of our case and believe we will prevail and compete in the 2023 elections and many elections before then, starting with the upcoming Lagos State Local Government elections.
“We have published our guidelines for our primaries, have strong candidates ready to contest on our platform and made our legal position clear to LASIEC, which governs these elections and INEC as well. We challenge them to obey the courts and allow us to participate.
“Any form of exclusion from the Lagos Polls by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) would render the electoral process null and void,” the party warned
“We urge Nigerians join us in this fight. Visit youthpartyng.com and register to join us. We can shape a truly bright future for Nigeria if we all work together,” it added.
The Youth Party has released guidelines and a schedule of activities for the conduct of its primaries ahead of the July 2020 Local Government election in Lagos State.
The party, in a statement jointly signed by its National Chairman Tomiwa Aladekomo and National Secretary, Mujaheed Salisu Ahmad, announced that the party will conduct its primary election on May 28, 2021 ahead of the July 24 date for the local council poll.
The Youth Party also announced 50 percent slash on nomination fee for female aspirants as well as persons with disabilities.
The statement reads: “The Youth Party will conduct its Primary Election on May 28, 2021 ahead of the July 2021 Lagos State Local Government election.
“The decision was reached following the resolution of the Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) on the conduct of the Party’s primaries for the July 2021 Lagos State Local Government election in conformity with the constitution of the party, the 2010 Electoral Act (as amended), the Lagos State Local Government (Administration) Law, and the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) Guidelines.”
“The party hereby releases the Timetable, Guidelines and Schedule of activities for the conduct of its Primary Election as follows: 1. Sale of Forms from May 4th-20th May, 2021 at the Lagos State Chapter Secretariat, 360, Herbert Macaulay, Sabo Yaba, Lagos or online at www.youthpartyng.com. Contact the State Secretary on 0802907065 or the State Organizing Secretary on 08030564264 for further clarification; Screening will take on 21st and 22nd May, 2021; Appeals, 24th and 25th May, 2021; Primaries will hold on 28th May, 2021, while Appeals arising from Primaries takes place 31st May, 2021.”
On obtaining its nomination and expression forms, the party stated: “An aspirant is obtain the Expression of Interest Form from the State Secretariat of the Party or such other place as may be designated by the National Working Committee of the Party, and, on completion, return same to the State Secretariat or scan an email of same to the Party at admin@youthpartyng.com or such other place as may be designated by the National Working Committee.
“An Aspirant is expected to obtain the Nomination form from the State Secretariat of the Party or such other place designated by the National Working Committee of the Party and evidenced upon payment of the prescribed non-refundable fee of N50,000.00 (Fifty Thousand Naira) for Chairmanship, N25,000.00 (Twenty Five Thousand Naira)for Vice Chairmanship and N20,000.00 (Twenty Thousand Naira) for Councillorship; save that female aspirants and persons with disabilities (PWDs) shall pay 50% (half) of the prescribed nomination fee.”
The statement further read: “Kindly note that guidelines for the primaries are open and accessible for transparency on the party’s website: https://youthpartyng.com. Voting will be innovative and convenient as we are adopting electronic means: online and SMS. It will be secured, monitored by candidates and INEC, and secret as required by the law. The members’ list/voters list for each constituency or elective position will be available to all aspirants without discrimination.
“The Youth Party is committed to expanding the democratic space by providing a level playing field for all aspirants on its platform. We encourage anyone who aspires to contest in a free and fair primary to join the Party at www.youthpartyng.com/join-movement/ Likewise, persons interested in voting for a candidate of their choice in a party primaries without fear or favour, are encouraged to join the Party. The Party preaches transparent political leadership and followership that frowns at money politics, bribery, violence, ‘short termism’, repression and corruption.
Further information and guidelines on the conduct of the July 2021 Lagos Local Government election primaries are available on the Party’s website.
Internal party democracy, also known as intra-party democracy, refers to the levels and methods of including party members in the decision making and deliberation within the party structure. It is primarily concerned with participatory and inclusive decision making. [1]
Thus, lack of internal democracy weakens party unity and is a threat to any country’s democracy. It also leads to chaos and often violence due to the resultant discontent. Nigerians cannot enjoy the dividends of democracy from any party that chooses candidates against internal democratic principles by discouraging competence, accountability and transparent leadership.
In Nigeria, there are laws and subsidiary regulations by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on internal party activities regarding party registration, candidate selection and leadership elections. For example, the INEC Regulations for the 2018 primary elections states that a 21 days’ notice of the primary election stating the type of primaries and the notice shall state the date, place and time of the primary elections. The said notice will be accompanied with necessary documents such as names of aspirants, members of the primary election panel, list of delegates (for indirect primaries), register of members (for direct primaries) amongst others.
Also, the Regulation stipulates that where a political party intends to postpone any scheduled primary election, the party shall inform INEC of the postponement not later than seven (7) days to the new date. The party is also required to clearly state the reasons for rescheduling, the new date and the venue.
The Nigerian 2018 Story
The recent conduct of parties primaries in Nigeria show clearly that a good number of Nigerian political parties do not practice internal democracy. Indeed, it can be concluded that a lot of them detest the concept. A serving Senator had this to say about internal democracy in the All Progressives Congress (APC):
“In APC, there are three ways by which you can emerge as a candidate: the first way is either you have someone at the Presidency who can call the people in NWC and tell the Chairman that your name should be included as a candidate. Number two, it is either you are in the favored book of a governor, who himself can use his own influence to compel the Chairman to remove somebody’s name. Number three is if you have the money to pay your way. Now, how can a party that has committed itself to change in Nigeria portrayed and purported itself as an offshoot of good governance behave this way”[i][2]
In any political system that allows for internal democracy, party members know the rules, their rights, powers and obligations in selecting their leaders or candidates for the party. The opposite is usually the case where internal democracy is absent.
Internal party democracy cannot thrive in political parties where power is concentrated in one or few leaders, who impose their wishes and preferred candidates on members of the party. This gives room for discontent, resentment by party members and many times incompetent and unresponsive candidates, who see no reason to do the general will of the people.
We have witnessed cases where party members who were eligible to contest were denied the right to buy nomination forms. In other cases, some aspirants bought expensive nomination forms, met the necessary requirements, were screened out and were not given enough time to appeal the screening results.
Noteworthy is the idea of “consensus candidacy”, which allows for a few privileged party officials to decide who should be given the Party’s ticket, rather than a majority of the party members deciding who their representatives should be. The idea of a consensus candidate presupposes a situation where there is no opposition. However, Section 87 (6) of the Electoral Act of 2010, prescribes how a consensus candidate can emerge, where it clearly states that:
“Where there is only one aspirant in a political party for any of the elective positions mentioned in sub section (4)(a), (b), (c) and (d), the party shall convene a special convention or congress at a designated center on a specified date for the confirmation of such aspirant and the name of the aspirant shall be forwarded to the Commission as the candidate of the party”.
Stories abound where primary elections were postponed from day to day or annulled without prior notice to aspirants, members of the parties and INEC as required by law.[3][4]In another instance, the primary election was postponed about three times and when it eventually held, it was annulled by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party. Subsequently in a strange and unprecedented manner, the same National Chairman of the party reaffirmed the election that had been earlier annulled.[5][6]
Whilst, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) regulation requires that the names of delegates, venue and time for the primary election are meant to be forwarded to INEC and the aspirants, 21 days before the primary elections. Nonetheless, party chieftains hold on to these information for their ulterior motives. For example, Prof. Pat Utomi, a professor of political economics, stated that he did not know the venue of the primaries election, where he was an aspirant. He expressed his frustration in a letter to the APC national leadership thus:
“Until such a date when all aspirants must know who the delegates are in advance, and are able to have access to them to canvass for their votes as a minimum basis for free, fair and credible primary elections.”[7]
In another instance, a viral video shows the State Chairman of a party making frantic efforts to cajole the national organizing secretary of the party to change the names of winners of the party’s primary elections after their names had been publicly declared. The stories of brazen disregard for internal democracy are endless. [8]
The House of Representatives in former times had a debate on the issue and set up a committee to investigate the subject and make recommendation on it. According to the former speaker of House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara; lack of internal democracy in political parties is a threat to democracy itself.[9]
In the same vein, The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has presented a petition requesting the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to jointly investigate allegations of corruption during the recently held primaries.[10]
Youth Party’s cardinal ideology is the expansion of democratic space by adherence to the principles of internal democracy and open primaries (One Member One Vote – OMOV). The Party not only preaches but also practices and promotes the culture of internal democracy. Our party commenced its primary election process by publishing its primary election guidelines and providing a timetable for the purchase of forms, screening of candidates, primary elections and post-primary election appeal. [11][12][13]
In conclusion, internal party democracy is not premised on members participating in the decision-making process only, but also, political parties adopting an open system that will give party members opportunities to know the rules and contest in elections starting from the primaries.
We must move past the era of anointed candidates as flag bearers. The anointing should be in the will of the people.
The Youth Party has frowned at the continuous waste of public resources on irrelevant overheads and consumption by the federal government.
The Party, in a statement by its National Chairman, Tomiwa Aladekomo expressed great displeasure at the country’s sustenance of government’s non-productive recurrent expenditure, unlike other countries of the world that adopt quantitative easing to stimulate the economy.
It noted that while it wasn’t uncommon for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to print money, the issue lies with what that money is used to fund, adding, “In our case, unfortunately, it is unnecessary overheads and consumption.”
The statement followed the warning by the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki on April 8 that the country was facing a serious economic problem as the CBN printed N60bn, which was added to what was shared at the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee by three levels of government in March.
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, however explained the practice of printing money for the government to borrow, noting that it is a practice in other economies of the world.
The Party chair while calling for urgent steps to reset and diversify the economy, said it was inappropriate of the country to print money with the current state of inflation, devaluation and interest rate without it being targeted at boosting productivity.
The Party noted: “However, we are worried that rather than using quantitative easing as it is the case with other countries of the world to spur productivity and drive economic growth, ours is geared at sustaining government’s non-productive recurrent expenditure, funding overheads, debts and a bloated government.”
“For instance, the federal government last year budgeted N128, billion for the National Assembly alone, a figure that was more that what was budgeted for UBEC (N70 billion) and basic health care (N35 billion) combined.
“This is a serious threat to the country’s macroeconomic stability as it will further weaken the exchange rate and push the country into hyper-inflation.”
Aladekomo further advised: “We must begin to look into various sectors of the economy, particularly the growth enhancing areas of our economy. We must begin to develop the right strategies to reset and grow the nation’s economy.
“The Federal Government can take a cue from our ‘Bold Revenue Plan’ which advises, amongst other things, the cutting down of government’s expenditure, reduction of the bloated cost of governance and increase in revenue through blocking tax loopholes. The government must pay urgent attention to production enhancing activities that can create jobs and grow the economy.”
