• Insists commission needs financial autonomy for free, fair, credible elections •Shettima: trust grows when citizens feel seen, heard, valued, and protected.d •Says Fourth Republic has been long conversation between hope and disappointment • Masari: constructive criticism bedrock of democracy •Ikechukwu: author is an elder statesman in journalism as Onyema, Okonkwo hail him Ndubuisi Francis, Chuks Okocha and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, has advocated the tinkering of relevant constitutional and electoral provisions, including embedding the funding of the commission’s activities in the Federation Account, to guarantee greater independence and seamless operations. Amupitan made the appeal while delivering a keynote speech in Abuja at the public presentation of “Shadows: Protest Essays on Africa’s Most Consequential Country (1999-2023),” authored by Managing Director of THISDAY Newspapers, Mr. Eniola Bello. The INEC chairman said being on first-line charge was not enough to address some of the fundamental challenges facing the commission. He explained that despite its current status on first-line charge, the election management body still grappled with funding challenges due to its reliance on the normal appropriation process and the envelope system. In the speech titled, “Strengthening Electoral Institutions: Pathways to Free, Fair, and Peaceful Elections in 2027,” Amupitan called for the amendment of the Electoral Act to ensure that the nomination of candidates was concluded one year before the general election Amupitan stated, “We need to rethink the operators of the institution, and so in strengthening our democratic institutions especially INEC, what we should be rethinking is not the provisions as we have— whether the spirit and the letters of the constitution and the Electoral Act, but rather those of us that operate the constitution itself. “Now, can INEC be independent without financial autonomy? Talking about strengthening the institution, if we truly want to conduct a free, fair and credible elections, there is also a need for INEC to have financial autonomy. “Let me say that under the provisions of the constitution, specifically Section 81(3), INEC is put on the First-Line charge and a lot of people felt that that is sufficient to make INEC financially independent. “However, the experience over the years has shown that as long as INEC is still subjected to the normal envelope system; so long as INEC is subject to the processes of appropriation, having to go to the National Assembly and at the end of the day, it is what is desired by another agency that should be the budget of INEC that is given to INEC, it is very difficult to operate in such a situation.” Amupitan stressed that as long as the commission’s funding was domiciled with the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), the federal government still reserved the responsibility to finance the commission and, by extension, elections. He stated, “Although the constitution places INEC on the first-line charge, it is not strong enough because the responsibility of INEC to conduct elections, register political parties, and also to register voters and provide register of voters even for the local government election by State Independent Electoral Commissions, INEC should come as part of Federation Account so that it can have a seamless operation and what we call operation efficiency.” Amupitan decried the quality of internal democracy being practised within political parties. According to him, where party primaries are characterised by imposition, opaque procedures, or disregard for established rules, disputes are almost inevitable. He added that many election-related court cases had their roots in disagreements that arose long before the first ballot was cast. The INEC chairman said political parties strengthened democracy when they upheld their own constitutions, conducted transparent primaries, and gave members a genuine voice in selecting candidates. He stated that if INEC was strengthened enough, some of the problems bedevilling political parties at the moment would have been resolved at least a year before the upcoming general election. Vice President Kashim Shettima, in his speech, titled, “The Country and Its Shadows,” stated that a nation was held together by the stories it was brave enough to tell about itself. Shettima added that no democracy grew by hiding its shadows from the light. He stated that it had often been said that leadership was a practice and not a title, expressing his belief that the same rings true for journalism and literature. Shettima, who was represented by his Special Advi
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