Less Than 30 Days To General Election, Olanipekun Faults Electoral Act, Says INEC Chairman Vested With Much Power

By Ayodele Oni

Chairman, Body of Benchers, (BOB) Chief Wole Olanipekun(SAN) has observed that the new Electoral Act conferred enormous power on the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC).

He wondered how the national assembly could allow such an act to scale through without proper scrutiny.

He has, therefore, charged Political Parties to “shine their eyes”, and monitor INEC and the returning officers properly during the next month General election.

According to the legal luminary, this became imperative so that nothing untoward happens to any party or candidate returned to be unreturned again.

Olanipekun, who spoke after a private visit to Governor Biodun Oyebanji, in his office in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday, therefore tasked the National Assembly to, as matter of urgency regulate the powers of the  Chairman of INEC as enshrined in the Electoral Act.

“ To me is a very dangerous section, so novel in the sense that, here you have a section that empowers a returning officer after returning to review his decision within a period of seven days.

“In Section 65 of the Electoral Act ,  the returning officer is not a court of law,  not a tribunal, not vested with jurisdiction to exercise quasi- decision or to assume jurisdiction over any matter that is judicial in nature.”

He explained out that he is not aware of any other similar section in  previous electoral act, or any similar section in any of the electoral act of any country in the world.

“When you now invest in a returning officer of  INEC, the power to do and undo, the power to return and review his decision is dangerous to the polity.

“The Chief Returning Officer, is the Chairman of INEC, meaning you can return someone as President today, and tomorrow, when there are  agitations here and there, he may  withdraw his  decision, saying I am revising myself and am now returning somebody else.”

Chief Olanipekun, said he was surprised that the National Assembly had  to allow that section to crept into the electoral act which was submitted to Mr. President for signing.

He  stated that the national assembly can still remove that proviso and called on all  stakeholders, particularly the political parties to rise against the section.