Many Nigerians have praised the Save Democracy Mega Alliance 2027 (SDMA’27) for starting a campaign to change the country’s constitution to remove the president’s control over the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the governor’s control over the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs).
The alliance is also advocating for a constitutional amendment that would eliminate the president’s authority over the judiciary, specifically about the nomination of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and the Chief Judge of State in the case of state governors.
Before the group’s campaign, there had been requests from several sources to take away the president’s authority to choose the leaders of the government’s judicial and electoral institutions.
The call’s rationale is that since the person who pays the piper sets the rules, this system does not ensure complete independence for the judiciary or the electoral body.
The coalition is also making the same argument, stating that by giving the authority to name the leaders of the two institutions to a new, independent body that would be established later, taking away the president’s authority will stop the executive branch from having any influence over the electoral and judicial processes.
Speaking at a briefing in Abuja, recently, the coalition’s spokesperson, Tony Akeni Le Moin, announced that the coalition would formally launch the campaign across all states, culminating in a “boot camp” finale in Abuja.
He tied the SDMA’27’s focus on two main constitutional amendments, stripping the president and governors of their powers to appoint INEC, SIEC, and judiciary heads and transferring these responsibilities to a body of non-partisan and integrity-vetted Nigerians.
The coalition which has been endorsed by prominent leaders and pro-democracy groups across the country, has also garnered support from Professor Pat Utomi, a well-respected political economist.
Utomi, who has described the movement as a significant milestone for Nigeria’s democracy since 1999, equally referenced the Justice Uwais Electoral Reform report as the most appropriate point to start from.
According to him, the report also recommended executive appointment reforms for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the judiciary, as insulating the institutions from executive influence would foster fair elections and improve governance.
The coalition outlined a three-point plan, including mobilising national consensus across political, religious, and civil society networks to create a unified demand for constitutional reforms. The group’s target is to build momentum for a national conference to formally propose the amendments and to lobby both the national and state assemblies to strip the executive of its overbearing influence on the INEC and the judiciary.
The step according to the group is to forestall the reoccurrence of the ugly incident that characterized the 2023 elections in 2027.
It warned that without the reforms, the 2027 elections would likely be a rehearsal of past electoral manipulations.
The group invoked Rev. Martin Luther King Junior’s words on the need for organised resistance, urging Nigerians to prepare for what they described as a “national emergency” to restore Nigeria’s democracy.
Commenting on the development, the president of the Middle Belt Forum, MBF, Dr. Pogu Bitrus told DAILY POST that it is not necessarily about who appoints, but most importantly about who fires.
He noted that in addition to who fires, the institution must be strengthened such that who appoints or fires doesn’t matter much as such a person would always be guided and put under check by such a strong institution in place.
Also, in his submission, the president of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, Alhaji Yerima Shettima expressed doubt about setting up an independent body to oversee such appointments.
He said the system has been so centralized that granting independence to such a separate body might not be possible because the president and commander in chief have enormous powers to do anything.
He also expressed doubt about the capacity of the current National Assembly, NASS, to strip the president of such powers.
He cited the alleged rubber stamp disposition of the current NASS to buttress his argument.
He told journalists that, “stripping the president of the powers to appoint the INEC chairman or the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, cannot happen under the watch of the current NASS that I know of.
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cc: Daily Post Ng
