2015 Elections Have Rekindled Confidence of Nigerians - Uwais M.

Former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mohammed Uwais, has said the smooth conduct of the 2015 general election has changed the negative perception of generality of Nigerians towards the nation’s electoral process.


The former Chief Justice who spoke yesterday at a national conference on the 2015 general election held in Abuja, organised by The Electoral Institute (TEI), a training arm of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), described mindset as a critical element that determines the success of every nation’s electoral practices.

“Before the 2015 general election, the mindset of Nigerians has hitherto been negative,” he said.
Uwais who headed the Electoral Reform Committee (ERC) constituted by former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2007, said there were still obstacles to scale through.

“Some of the outstanding obstacles are highlighted in the report of the electoral committee of which I was honoured to chair between 2007 and 2008, while new ones raised their heads during the 2015 general elections like the operations of the card readers budget,” he noted.

Similarly professor of political science, Adele Jinadu who delivered a keynote address at the occasion urged the federal government to adopt the Justice Uwais recommendation, which shifts the burden of proof from the petitioner to INEC to prove that the disputed election is free and fair.

Jinadu also called for the introduction of rules and regulations that would allow for speedy disposition of election disputes.
In her remarks, the acting Chairman of INEC, Mrs. Amina Zakari, said the commission’s focus would not only be to solve the nation’s electoral problems but win public trust for the commission.

Zakari who was represented by Ambassador Lawrence Nwuruku noted that “the citizenry can only trust an electoral umpire only when the election management body is able to deliver electoral service creditably well.”

She expressed happiness that the citizens’ trust in INEC has been rekindled “and faith in the electoral process in becoming stronger.”