Mike Igini’s interpretation of Section 115(1)(d) of the Electoral Act 2022 is wrong, Misleading ~Barr. Ekokoi

Mike Igini’s interpretation of Section 115(1)(d) of the Electoral Act 2022 is wrong, Misleading – Barr. Ekokoi

The section provides that “[a] person who — signs a nomination paper or result form as a candidate in more than one constituency at the same election, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a maximum term of imprisonment for two years.”

Mr. Igini has interpreted the above provisions to mean that where a person procures more than one nomination form for different constituencies (e.g presidential and senatorial or presidential and gubernatorial) in the same election, that person is liable to be “a candidate for prison rather than a candidate for election.”

While I appreciate Mr. Igini’s effort at educating citizens regarding the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, his interpretation of section 115(1)(d) on national television, on 19 July 2022, is a wrong interpretation of the provisions of that section.

The key words in that section are “candidate” and “constituency”. Regrettably, Mr Igini has substituted the word “candidate” with “aspirant”. Section 115(1)(d) is intended to prevent a person who has emerged a candidate of a political party for a constituency (for example, gubernatorial candidate) from becoming a candidate of a political party for another constituency (for example presidential, senatorial or House of Representatives) in the same election.

Under Nigeria’s electoral laws, there is a difference between an aspirant and a candidate. A person does not become a candidate until he or she has been nominated by a political party for an election. Therefore, for a person to violate the provisions of section 115(1)(d) and be liable to imprisonment, he or she must have become a candidate (not aspirant) of a political party for different constituencies in the same election.

A case in point is what happened in 1999, when Atiku Abubakar was the candidate of the PDP for the gubernatorial election in Adamawa State (who went on to win that election), and he was later picked by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as his vice presidential candidate for the presidential election of that same year.

By the provisions of section 115(1)(d) of the Electoral Act 2022, a candidate cannot be a candidate in more than one constituency in the same election, thus the scenario that played out in 1999 is now prohibited.

In a related opinion, Barr Uwem Umoh opines thus:

As regard the most misapplied and misinterpreted Section 115(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 as amended, I make this bold clarification below:

It appears a cursory look at the said provision of law as it were reveals without any ambiguity that there are two stages of signing a nomination form in an Election process which the Electoral Act 2022 as amended regulates. stage One is at pre party primaries. Second is at post party primaries.

The former has to do with members of your constituents signing as those Nominating you to contest the party primaries upon purchasing the party’s expression of interest and nomination form.

The one refers to in Section 115(1) of the Electoral Act is the post Primary nomination forms given by INEC through Political parties leadership to successful candidates of their parties who emerged from successful primaries to fill.

Here, it is your party that is nominating you as their candidate for the general Election. Just the chairman of your party and the secretary signs it, unlike the former where many members from your respective constituent area signs. Many of not less than 40(depending the office you are contesting) signs that form.

This very form refers to in Section 115(1) as now being misapplied and misinterpret by overzealous media loving INEC officers and others who ought to have been meticulous enough in reading it, has to and indeed is to effect that INEC will recieve from those parties, list of names of those they have nominated at their party primaries as their candidate in and for the general election which INEC are to list and publish as candidates for general election and upload same in their portal.( Commission’s portal).

That section 115(1) only refers to the latter not the earlier pre primaries Forms. All candidates who contest election or have ever done so know these facts of the forms meant in Section 115(1) that indeed there are two NOMINATION FORMS at the process of any Election.

Therefore it is the violators of the law as it relates to the latter Nomination forms that the punishment prescribed in section 115(1) refers applies.