 The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has decried the refusal of major political parties including the All Progressive Congress, APC, and the People's Democratic Party, PDP, among others, to furnish the Electoral Commission with its audited account for years now. It also expressed the concerns that only 9 out of 73 formally registered political parties that contested the 2019 general election legally complied with the directives of the Electoral Commission on the audit of the account. The commission disclosed that while 34 political parties submitted their audited account, only 9 compiled the statutory or complied, I beg your pardon, with the statutory requirements of submission of accounts with the affidavit. While joining us to discuss this is Kunlilawal, he's the Executive Director, Electoral College, Nigeria, and Obinachiku, he is a legal practitioner. Thank you so much gentlemen for joining us. Thank you. I'm going to start with you, Barista Obinach. According to the Electoral Act, I mean, I remember, if I remember vividly, it's been almost eight or nine years since INEC has continuously asked that political parties publish their audited reports, give it to them or submit it. I also remember that at some point, Sarah was asking political parties to make known their party finances. As we speak, we're getting into another election cycle. And here we are again, INEC decrying political parties non-compliance. Is there anything in the Electoral Act that can hold these political parties liable? Strictly speaking, I do not think that there is anything, but INEC has the power or powers to find a way around it. But again, I will, yes, as much as we continue to say that the political parties are the corporates. I want to say that more, is it, how do I put it, more actions or talks should also go the way of the Alpha INEC. All these coming or waking up almost close to the election to make this kind of statement. I do not think that is the right thing because at the end of the day, yes, we know this is Nigerian election, but this election somehow will reverberate all over the world. The world is looking up to Nigeria to do the right thing. If the simple INEC or the empire comes out to say that the political parties, even the so-called big, whether big three or big five or so, fear to comply with the law. What does that show to the world? It shows that that continues to show that Nigeria is a lawless society because how can a political party that fear to or refuse to comply with the law comes out to not say that the same political party will conduct a election or present candidates in a election. To me, I will hold or I will cast most of the blame on INEC. INEC should have done this a longer job. They should have heard them to account. You know that in Nigeria, if no force is exerted, Nigerians have a way of not doing that except where there is punishment and INEC is ready to wear the big hammer because among some of the powers that INEC has, INEC has the power to derigest the political parties. But I don't know why. For me, the timing is wrong for INEC to make this kind of statement. All efforts should be geared towards ensuring that the election is credible, is fair and peaceful. Coming to say that the political parties have not filed in their audited account. It shows also that it goes a long way to show or to portray Nigeria as a lawless society because again, what happens if in the so-called audited account there are infractions or the things that supposedly should make the political parties not credible enough to present candidates. But now, according to INEC, INEC said it's only nine political parties that comply. Then what message are you sending to the nine political parties that comply when you are not leaving the so-called big three or big five or whatever? You are not leaving them to go ahead with the elections whereas the smaller political parties comply. I do not think that toying this line is the best thing. Okay. Kune, let me come to you. Of course, the Electoral College is more like a poster child for what parties and of course the electorates should be doing, should learn and know. Now, Boris Dobbina is here saying that INEC should be wielding the big stick but they're not doing so. And many have decried again the powers of INEC. They talk more than they do. But then of course we're going into a very, very serious election, one of the most kindly contested ever. And we're thinking that why would issues like this not be dealt with before now because of course campaigns are kicking off from today. And if we do not have these audited reports, what kind of elections are we looking forward to? So thank you very much. I would first like to clarify the fact that within the Electoral Act 2022, Section 861 actually demands assets and liabilities of annually of political parties to be stated. And I think Subsection 2, that's it, Section 6 of Section 2 of the Electoral Act 2022 still gives a six month imprisonment and a one million Naira 5 to default us. Now INEC of course has not enforced this properly. I think the political parties, let's be clear, also do not clearly understand the Electoral Act It's sad to see that we have laws passed by people within the National Assembly which they don't even read or go over. It's highly shocking. It shows the degradation of legislative incapabilities in Nigeria. Now if I were to profile a solution, I would have said INEC should have gone through this route and the route that I've studied, none of your candidates would be accredited as candidates except this necessary legislative provision is met. So it would state that if you didn't produce your assets and liabilities for that year, none of your candidates from a party would be registered to run for office regardless of whether you've done the primaries. And you know till INEC starts to take those kind of steps, I would say political parties will not exactly take INEC seriously. This is something they flouted for multiple years. This minus campaign funding of political parties which also has been flouted constantly in Nigeria. The cost of forms also flout a lot of other parameters from running for office which are prohibited by the Electoral Act. But because INEC of course is trying to play empire and not exactly dictator, it has found itself in a mix where it has to just accept what is being pushed, what is being pushed before it. I think it's about high time that INEC decides whether it wants to hold people according to the law and constitution and then also the Electoral Act 2022 or INEC just wants to allow everybody past the bar and do what they want in Nigeria and we continue to have like a virus that said earlier a totally no less society. Back to you Baris Darbina. Solutions is what we're here for. Like I said at the beginning, CERAP is one of the only non-governmental organizations that have continuously put the feet of these political parties to the fire. And now it looks more like maybe the electorate needs to put the foot of INEC to the fire but will this sort solve any situation because like Kunli has said there are actually things that we can point to in the Electoral Act that need to be enforced. But then INEC can also on the other hand tell you that they're not a law enforcement agent. So agency I beg your pardon. So where do we go from here? Okay for me number one we need to say INEC or INEC staff needs to be trained. They need to be trained because the psyche or the judging from the activities of INEC I will conclude or one will conclude that the only thing INEC is interested in is conduct elections, how to conduct elections. That's not all the powers that the law extended to INEC. For instance this submission of Audited Account has nothing to do with the election. There are still other things that the law has provided for that INEC should do other than election but the concentration is only on election. No those things that the law provides or provided that were provided in the Electoral Act and the Constitution. Those things are there to ensure that the election is credible. If you fail to do those things what you are invariably saying is that the election is not credible. How can you go into election with political parties whose accounts financial or whether assets have not been verified or accounted for for the past three, four, five years? How do we now know whether or not they receive funds from foreign countries? How do we now know who is funding them? How do we know? How will INEC decipher the activities? Number one, like I said, I think INEC needs a complete training. The staff needs complete training and it's high time in Nigeria we establish an institution. An institution whether it's a miniature one that constantly will train INEC officials especially on Electoral Act. And then again INEC will always say that the Electoral Act, the amendment or whatever wasn't done on time so as to enable them to study it. That is also another area that we must look into. The National Assembly should be up and doing. They should stop playing politics with Electoral law. Electoral law is amongst the principal legislation that guides or helps Nigeria to have credible election. All amendments should come even one year or two before the elections so that INEC will have ample opportunity to study them. Now even if we want to criticize them we want to wage or use slage harm on them. The Electoral Act in 2022 also Electoral Act just came into force. I think last three or four months by that they may not have had time to study it. I'm sorry, I don't know if this excuse sits well with me. INEC does have a legislative department. The spokesperson of INEC is a lawyer. Professor Makmud Yakubu also is a learned gentleman. I'm trying to understand where it fits that these people may not have had time to be educated. They're the umpire. I don't understand which other duties they would have other than to digest what is in the Electoral Act to be able to in any way execute it. Yes, you know that law most times most times when a law is made again it takes a challenging call to be able to ascertain whether that law or testing that law to ascertain whether the law has the the potential to achieve the internment of the drafters of that law. I am not making excuses for them but I'm saying as a solution that we must at least engage the legislators let all amendments come on time so that INEC will have opportunities not only the legal department that should be conversant with the Electoral Act the Electoral Law or the Electoral Act it's not only the legal department I think to me all staff in INEC should be able to at least know the ABCD that law should be translated even if it means translating it in local languages so that all staff because again by February next year some of these staff will be deployed to monitor elections if they don't know the law how will they monitor the elections I am thinking that election is very very important to every society in fact to every same society so we need to establish an institution no matter how small so that the INEC staff will be trained then secondly ensure that the legislation whatever amendment that is to be made to the Electoral Act comes on time then again INEC should ensure that political parties are monitored because even what we have in Nigeria for those that read political science and those that have knowledge of politics what we have in Nigeria cannot really qualify as political parties they can qualify as political parties a political party the so-called political party in Nigeria that has what they call is it what are the cabals the so-called political parties that before a new entrant enters into the political party you have to go through some form of initiation or the initiation that you must know the person that knows somebody and knows somebody and all that the chain continues to qualify as a political party political party remains a very good true quick the citizens uses to enthrone or to extend their mandate to fellow citizens who will be in charge of the ranks of power and ensure that the so-called democratic dividend comes to them but that's not what we are seeing they have even the political parties in Nigeria have even isolated Nigerians they now have clique look at the board of trustees look at those that are the officials can a known person be elected to those positions no known person can be elected especially and particularly with the the so-called big political parties in Nigeria nobody will be as you are there you cannot be elected except one of the so-called cabals chooses you or has interest in you is that a political party that's not a political party in the real sense and meaning of political party let me come back to you Kunle still on holding feet to the fire whether it be political parties whether it be INEC where does the onus lie right now because INEC is on the one hand crying about the fact that these political parties are not adhering to what they're asking for but then where does the electorate come in here because he just said now that most of the people who work in INEC don't have an idea what's in the electoral act but of course we also who have been agitating about certain aspects of the electoral act how many of us know it those of us who want to cast that vote for political parties where do we come in here like I stated earlier this is part of the electoral act 2022 what I didn't add to my conversation earlier was that it has been part of the electoral act since the year 2010 this particular clause on parties delivering on the third statement has been actually active since the electoral act in 2010 now the electorate and INEC are supposed to directly hold political parties like for abusing this particular clause in the electoral act has that been done no do the electorate know it exists no to INEC officials itself know it exists I can say maybe 3% or 4% of INEC know what's contained in the electoral act as is and when you look at it clearly like that INEC in the second clause that's 86-2 has the opportunity to either prosecute and the clause there under states that you either go for 6 months in prison or pay a fine of 1 million there depending on the political party though which is going to prison whether it's the chairman, the Secretary because these states where 2 exact states are in prison so I don't know if they're going to throw in the old beauty and last time I think another thing to also that's what they have noticed the amount that they pay as a fine for a political party it's also dispeakable a political party that collected 100 million 100 million from a candidate it's like it said it is dispeakable and it's very, very embarrassing that at this point in time that's defined for it so the real question you're going to ask is National Assembly also palpable because they put in this law and also palpable knowing that they will never meet to that so they decided to put a pickpocket price just to ensure they can get away with the usual actions which they normally perpetrate I think INEC has always concerned itself like the barista said about execution of elections and money that is going to come from the federal government for them to run elections and also money that will come from development partners for them to execute elections more than they are to the practicality of actually ensuring that elections are free and fair and at that point you get to ask yourself the question it's totally not surprising what exactly emerges from our elections and I really wonder where we go from here because again like I said the campaigns have started there is supposed to be a bar where you don't go above when it comes to political spending but who's watching who's taking notes and who's going to wield the big stick if there's nobody then what do we consider free, fair and credible elections so many questions I think there's a trick in the electoral act so it clearly states if you're running for president you can't expect more than 5 billion Naira now let's look at let's take the increment party its funds were 100 million Naira they went most of the presidential aspirants went to 36 states that expenditure alone minus how much influence they gave delegates and what they've been doing post that I can say they have already expended like before campaigns they've expended those 3 billion Naira but now the electoral act gets money it tells you you can't cross but it doesn't tell you whether it's the police it's the DSS, it's the judiciary or it's INEC to hold anybody that brings parameter accountable within the electoral act so it just looks like we have a law and we just put it there just as you know so probably somebody who put the the way of dogs in the south that's exactly what we've done with the electoral act finally Baris Elbina really what do we do because like I said it feels like another deja vu moment it keeps happening every election cycle we keep hearing this story but then nobody ever is used as a scapegoat or to set an example to all the other political parties so it's business as usual and who's to say that we should expect anything from this year's election and I'm not in any way being trying to be pessimistic by the way they think they are like I said it's the usual thing there will be election or elections at the end of the day people will emerge and go for Thanksgiving in their various churches and in other religious centers and claiming that they have the mandate of the people and all that we need to do is to watch them but again if we must if we must get it right we must also empower the civil society organizations because no society actually grows without the civil society organizations let us empower them even in the electoral act let us empower them to demand that I may produce or dobs certain things for instance if we have a provision that empowers or allows the civil society organizations to demand that I may produce or make available the audited account of all the political parties 12 months or 6 months or 8 months before an election that will ginger I need that will force I need to do the writing let us not at every point in time make laws that somehow will be difficult that's why when I started I said when you ask me of the punishment I said I may find a way around it if it's what is expressed in the electoral act what is expressed in the electoral act is even ambiguous who do you even reign who do you will you also arrest me and ask me to be part of the payment of 1 million well big question that begs answers what will happen in the next election remains to be seen but I want to say thank you gentlemen because our time is up Kulilawal this executive director Electoral College Nigeria and Obinachiku is a legal practitioner thank you so much gentlemen for being part of the conversation thank you for the opportunity thank you alright well thank you all for joining us but before I go I would quickly like to give you my take here's my take consequences are part of the natural order of life in scientific terms every action has an equal and obfuscatory action it is unavoidable that is unless you are talking about politics in Nigeria it is commonplace for members of political elites to avoid the natural consequences of their behaviour that are ever corrupt now a fundamental principle of democracy is the separation of power with it actually comes the necessary checks and balances to keep each arm of government in check but our political reality is such that the executive behaves like a drunk baby that cannot be quieted by its parents the legislature is no more than a den of vipers too cold blooded to offer a glimpse of warm future for the constituencies that members of the chambers are supposed to be presenting now as for the judiciary like an old man realising he cannot keep up with its moral duty to scold the children when they err it limbs along vocationally reminding us of its relevance and its importance mostly though it fails like the other arms of government to enforce consequences for bad behaviour now our politics will never change until the back room deals made to elect individuals stated by the party manifestos and constitutions come with express consequences and that is my take I'm Mary Anna Cohn, thank you for watching