Former President Goodluck Jonathan has called on the National Assembly to overhaul Nigeria’s electoral litigation system by establishing a dedicated Constitutional Court to handle all election-related disputes.
Jonathan made the remarks on Wednesday in Abuja while speaking at the 70th birthday celebration and book launch of former Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel.
He criticized the existing three-tier process for governorship election petitions which progresses from election tribunals to the Court of Appeal and finally to the Supreme Court describing it as cumbersome, prolonged, and burdensome on both the political and judicial systems.
Jonathan argued that limiting electoral cases to a single specialized court would make dispute resolution more efficient and reduce unnecessary delays.
He cited a past incident from 2011, where a governorship candidate lost due to a technicality over the colour of ink used by voters. In one senatorial district, voters used black or green pens instead of the legally required red ink because red pens were unavailable. Votes were cancelled, and the Appeal Court upheld the decision despite the lower tribunal viewing a tick as valid regardless of colour.
Although the National Assembly later amended the law to allow governorship cases to reach the Supreme Court to prevent such technical injustices, Jonathan noted that the change did not resolve the problem of lengthy litigation.
He proposed adopting a model used in Francophone African countries, where Constitutional Courts exclusively handle political and electoral matters.“If the Supreme Court continues to be the terminal court for governor’s elections, then they don’t need to go through the lower tribunal, so that it would just be one step,” he said.
Jonathan added that during his time in office, he considered establishing a single tribunal for all political litigation.He urged the judiciary to remain firm and impartial, likening politics to soccer and judges to referees: “If the referee looks the other way, players will break legs or score with their hands.”
On a lighter note, Jonathan praised Gbenga Daniel as a “constructive leader” who brought an engineering approach to governance. He also encouraged Daniel’s effort to document his experiences in a book, saying it helps correct public misconceptions, and expressed hope to one day write his own memoir.
The event was attended by several dignitaries, including a representative of President Bola Tinubu (Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun), former President Olusegun Obasanjo, traditional rulers, and other political figures.
Jonathan’s comments have sparked discussions on the need for judicial and electoral reforms to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy and ensure timely, fair resolution of election disputes.
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