Legal luminary, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, has kicked
against Section 65 of the Electoral Act, saying it is a very dangerous act in
our electoral system, which empowers the Chief Returning Officer of INEC, to
return and also review his decision.
Olanipekun said: “To me [it] is a very dangerous section, so
novel in the sense that, here you have a section that empowers a returning
officer after returning to review his decision within a period of seven days.”
According to the legal giant: “The returning officer is not
a court of law, not a tribunal, not vested with jurisdiction to exercise
quasi-decision or to assume jurisdiction over any matter that is judicial in
nature.”
Olanipekun made the remarks yesterday when he paid a private
visit to Governor Biodun Oyebanji in his office in Ado Ekiti yesterday.
According to the former NBA President, “that section of the
Electoral Act, [is] giving a returning officer, and by extension, INEC, the
power to do and undo.”
He pointed out that he is not aware of any similar section
in any of any similar section in previous electoral acts, or any similar
section in any of the electoral acts of any country in the world.
“When you now invest in a returning officer of INEC, the
power to do and undo, the power to return and review his decision is dangerous
to the polity,” he said.
He added: “The Chief Returning Officer is the Chairman of
INEC, meaning you can return someone as President today, and tomorrow, when
there are agitations here and there, he may withdraw his decision, saying “I am
revising myself and am now returning somebody else”.”
Chief Olanipekun said he was so surprised that the National
Assembly have to allow that section in the Electoral Act which they submitted
to Mr President for signing.
He urged National Assembly members that they can still
remove that proviso and called on all stakeholders, particularly political
parties, to “shine their eyes,” to monitor INEC and especially, returning
officers, so that nothing untoward happens to any party [and] candidate.
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