Don urges FG to adopt suggestions put forward in the Uwais report on electoral reforms

Adele Jinadu, a professor of political science at Babcock University, has pleaded with the Federal Government to put the Justice Muhammad Uwais panel report into effect for improved electioneering in the nation.

On Monday, Jinadu delivered a speech at The Electoral Institute in Abuja’s Abubakar Momoh Memorial Lecture, which had as its theme “The 2023 general election: Lessons learned in preparation for Kogi, Bayelsa, and Imo states off-cycle governorship elections.”

A 22-member Electoral Review Committee, led by Justice Uwais, was established by the late President Umaru Yar’ Adua on August 28, 2007, to examine the electoral process critically and provide advice on any areas that needed reform.

Over the course of its over a year-long assignment, the committee received more than 1,000 memos from the general public and invited input from experts from Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, Cote D’Ivoire, France, Ghana, India, Lesotho, Mexico, Niger Republic, and South Africa.

The committee completed its report and delivered it to the late President, but the Federal Government did not follow most of its recommendations.

However, Jinadu, who is also a member of the TEI Governing Council, claimed that operational problems with the deployment of officials, supplies, and logistics for the elections had continued to be persistent, damaging factors that reduced the credibility of the nation’s electoral governance.

The deployment of technology, according to the don, “understandably added to concerns among INEC, stakeholders in the electoral governance process, the electorate, and the general public about the transparency of the elections and the readiness of INEC for the country’s 2023 general election.”

He then counseled the FG to address “the anti-democratic diabolic politics and its facilitative toxic economic, political and socio-cultural environment that continue to undermine the viability of democracy and development in the country.

“The FG should adopt a strategic plan with short-to-medium term goals covering the 2023–2027 election cycle, to pursue, among other political reforms, outstanding electoral reforms suggested by the Uwais Electoral Reform Committee,” the statement reads.

The off-cycle elections are another chance for INEC to enhance its procedures, according to Sa’ad Idris, Director-General of the Independent National Electoral Commission, TEI.

In light of this, Idris said, “The Kogi, Bayelsa, and Imo States Governorship Elections are yet another opportunity for the Commission to fine-tune its policies, processes, and procedure in order to achieve a more credible, transparent, and acceptable electoral outcome, aimed at strengthening and deepening our democratic culture.”