Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Femi Falana has called for the position of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman to be publicly advertised, allowing competent Nigerians to apply and ensuring the commission's independence.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Falana argued that this approach aligns with the 2008 Justice Mohammed Uwais panel recommendations and has been successfully implemented in African countries like Lesotho and Botswana.
“What other countries in Africa have done is to put in place a mechanism whereby vacant positions in the electoral bodies are advertised,” he said.
He explained that under the Uwais model, applications would be open to the public, objections raised against unqualified candidates, and a shortlist of the top three forwarded to the National Assembly for selection—ideally after scrutiny by the National Judicial Council.
“This goes a long way to make the body free from control,” Falana stressed.His comments follow the Senate’s confirmation of Prof. Joash Amupitan, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and law professor, as INEC chairman on October 16, after President Bola Tinubu’s nomination.
Falana also advocated amending the Electoral Act to grant voting rights to Nigerians in the diaspora.
“Today, remittances from citizens abroad are higher, sometimes, than the money we make from oil and gas,” he noted.
“If they are remitting millions of dollars, which go a long way to improve the economy, they also have a right to demand that they be allowed to participate in electing the leaders of the country.”
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