AGF’s unfortunate letter to INEC

Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami (SAN) last week asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara field candidates in the 2019 general elections. He made the request in a letter dated February 13, saying INEC could not foreclose the right of a political party […]

Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami (SAN) last week asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara field candidates in the 2019 general elections. He made the request in a letter dated February 13, saying INEC could not foreclose the right of a political party to participate in elections without recourse to the Electoral Act.

Malami wrote, “My office received a petition from the firm of M. A. Mahmud, (SAN) & Co, in respect of the need to urgently consider Sections 38 and 39 of the Electoral Act and extend the time for the APC Zamfara to field gubernatorial candidate in the light of a Zamfara High Court judgment in suit no: ZMS/GS/52/2018”.  The letter was requesting that the subsisting judgment in the suit be upheld and respected by INEC, as the Court of Appeal had upheld the appeal with no: CA/S/23/2019.

In his letter, the AGF invited INEC to comply with the judgment of the Court of Appeal by admitting the result of APC Zamfara primaries. He also invited INEC to comply with the provisions of Section 38 of the Electoral Act, which empowered the Commission to postpone the election for the governorship, National Assembly and House of Assembly elections. According to him, since the Court of Appeal had upheld the primaries as valid; the APC in Zamfara would need a little time to catch up with its rivals in the election.

It would be recalled that INEC had declined to accept APC candidates in Zamfara State because, according to the Commission, APC failed to meet the deadline for holding primary elections. However, a High Court in Gusau presided over by Justice Muhammad Bello Shinkafi had on January 25 asked INEC to accept the primaries for the APC’s governorship, senatorial, house of representatives and state Assembly seats in Zamfara state. APC’s National Secretariat was also barred from replacing the names of those who won the primary elections of the party on 7th October 2018. On the other hand, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had affirmed the decision of INEC, foreclosing the party from participating in the election.

The Court of Appeal in Sokoto, presided over by Justice Jumai Sankey last week dismissed the suit filed by a member of the House of Representatives, Aminu Jaji, when the latter applied to withdraw it. The court also dismissed the motion filed by Governor Abdulazeez Yari and Alhaji Muhkar Idris praying for an order for INEC to accept their candidature. It was this ruling that the Attorney General, apparently wrongly, interpreted to mean that the appellant court had upheld the judgment of the High Court in Gusau.

The AGF later admitted he wrote the letter but said it asked INEC to extend the time for APC to submit candidates, not to postpone elections in Zamfara State. PDP National Chairman Uche Secondus however said, “The AGF’s letter is part of APC’s design to arm-twist INEC and judiciary to take illegal action in their favour”. Former president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA] Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) also urged the AGF to withdraw the letter he sent to INEC. Agbakoba said if anyone was to make a request for postponement, it should be APC, not AGF; adding that INEC is an independent institution that should not take directives from the federal government. He also said Sections 38 and 39 of the 2010 Electoral Act upon which AGF’s request is based have nothing to do with postponement of elections.

The AGF did not write letters on behalf of other parties that had similar issues with INEC. His letter also calls to question President Muhammadu Buhari’s repeated pledge of allowing INEC to operate independently. It also puts the president’s commitment to the promise in serious doubt. The AGF should withdraw the letter immediately and allow the judiciary to settle the matter of the Zamfara primaries logjam. Perhaps the Appeal Court’s Abuja Division could do so before the February 23 elections.