Opinions

We don’t need elections too anymore

May 10, 2025

We don’t need elections too anymore

By Umar Ardo, Ph.D

Since it is clear that we have decided to run our democracy without abiding by the provisions of our constitution and the law, then we as well don’t need to conduct any elections anymore, because conducting elections after every four years is itself a provision of our constitution. Let everybody simply do as they please.

2. Yesterday was another sad day for the Nigerian state as its elected democratic leaders, again for the umpteenth time, have thrown rules, laws and constitution to the dogs, embarking in a clearly self-fulfilling political misadventure with ominous consequences for the country.
3. ⁠In a well attended ceremony of legislators and party stalwarts, led by the APC national chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, Senators, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly members of Kebbi state, met with the president and announced their defection to the APC, which act they will formally declare on the floor of the senate, House of Representatives and House of Assembly on Tuesday. Afterwards, they gleefully had a photo session with the president and Dr. Ganduje later making a cryptic speech telling the world about it. Earlier, a few weeks ago, the Delta state governor and all legislators in the state, down to the councilor, had also crossed over from the PDP to the APC; following the footsteps of so many other legislators before them. These defectors literarily constitute the highest echelons of Nigeria’s elected leaders.

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4. ⁠It is not unusual, even in the most advanced democracies of the world, like the United States and United Kingdom for politicians to change political parties on dictates of politics and political expediencies. In those countries, their constitutions were either ambivalent or even outright silent on such matters. In our case, however, our constitution made explicit provisions on the matter but it is just simply blatantly ignored by the operators of our system.
5. ⁠For us, it is a trend of lawlessness all through. At almost all times, political expediency takes precedence over the rule of law, to the point today that the provisions of our laws and constitution are of no essence. It is in this light that the perennial defections, particularly of legislative members, the negative implications and consequences on our democracy and society must be viewed.
6. ⁠In dealing with the issue of party defections, Section 68(1)(g) for NASS and 109(1)(g) for State Legislators of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), expressly state respectively inter alia:

“A member (of NASS or of House of Assembly) shall vacate his seat if -: being a person whose election to the (NASS or House of Assembly) was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected;

“Provided that his membership of the latter political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored;”.
7. And in the judgment of the Supreme Court clarifying the division meant in a political party by this very provision, in the case of Adegunde Vs Ondo State House of Assembly in 2015, the Supreme Court in a unanimous judgment of the full court read by Justice Moh’d Dattijo, JSC declared:

“The division in section 68(1)(g) of the constitution must be a division at the national level of the party; not ward, not local government and not state. To take refuge under this provision the division in the party must be such that it affects the entire structure of the party”.
8. Now this is the clear unbridled provision of the constitution and its unambiguous interpretation by the apex court of the land. Where then do our operators have cause to act otherwise on this matter
9. Yet, according to the Press statement of the APC Chairman, all the legislators of Kebbi state have decamped from the PDP, their sponsoring party, to the APC, the ruling party at the federal level. The ceremony was all gleeful without one in the whole lot reflecting on their transgression of constitutional provisions and its ominous implications to our democracy.
10. We all know, as they all also very well do, that there is no any division within the ranks and structures of the PDP, the sponsoring party of all the decampees. Yet, PDP legislators in Delta and Kebbi, and maybe in others too, have left the party that sponsored them to their various offices into the APC without vacating their seats in compliance with the provisions of the constitution. And their outrageous actions are being celebrated openly. Why is it so?
11. The answer is in the provision of sub-section (2) which requires the leadership of the legislative houses to give effect to the vacancies of such decampee members. And this is where the problem starts – because the leaderships of the legislative houses belong to the party that is beneficiary of the defections, partisan benefits become more convincing a consideration to them than the enforcement of the Nigerian constitution that they all swore with their holy books to uphold and defend.
12. But more worrisome is the very fact that we have leaders who actually compromise the constitution and render its provisions and the law inapplicable by their deliberate acts of commission and/or omission. By their acts against the constitution, they have wittingly, albeit naturally, turned Nigeria into a lawless society. Nothing can be worse than this, and especially caused by those who are lawfully entrusted with the operation of the law. It is a more dangerous situation than having bandits and terrorists raising arms against the state. While bandits and terrorists are outlaws, the ultimate results of compromising the law by those entrusted to apply it could create a thousand bandits and terrorists. What therefore do we call those whose responsibility it is to apply the letter of the law but purposefully refuse to do so? We should call them tyrants and enemies of the state, as they are responsible for rendering our society lawless and our democracy impracticable; they are responsible for the collapse of our country! To this end, the Senate President, the Speakers of the House of Representatives and Houses of Assembly affected have betrayed their oath of office and are a danger to our society. Already with no ethics, no values and now no laws in their operating the system; the drift of our society is inexorable and shameful!
13. In order to solve this particular problem and stabilize our democracy, I strongly recommend that legislative leaderships should be stripped of this power of declaring such decampees seats vacant by amending subsection (2) of sections 68 and 109 of the constitution and entrust this power in the hands of the sponsoring political parties. In fact, this provision should be extended to apply to the executives as well. It makes even better sense as parties will retain the political initiatives on its members, thereby strengthening the parties and hence our democracy.
14. In the meantime, for scornfully trampling on our constitution, let’s all chorus shame on the decamping legislators, shame on APC National Chairman, shame on the leaderships of the legislative houses and shame on the president himself who encourages such wanton violations of our constitution that he swore on the authority of the Holy Qur’an that he will abide by, protect and defend. With such contemptuous acts, why should we conduct elections after every four years? Let every elected person simply continue in office! We do not have to go into elections henceforth, nor does anyone need to obey any law anymore.

Ardo, the convener of LND