The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Joash Amupitan, says the commission cannot be truly independent without financial autonomy.

Amupitan made this assertion on Thursday at the public presentation of ‘Shadows: Protest Essays on Africa’s Most Consequential Country (1999–2023)’, authored by THISDAY Managing Director, Mr Eniola Bello.

He cautioned that persistent dependence on the normal budgetary process weakens INEC’s operational independence, adding that such could undermine efforts to deliver free, fair and credible elections in 2027.

According to him, while the electoral body remains central to the electoral process, the responsibility for credible elections extends to political parties, security agencies, the media, civil society organisations and Nigerians themselves.

“Can INEC truly be independent without financial autonomy? If we are serious about strengthening our institutions and conducting free, fair and credible elections, then financial autonomy is essential,” Amupitan said.

The INEC chairman stressed that although the Constitution places the electoral umpire’s funding on the Consolidated Revenue Fund, practical experience has shown that the arrangement falls short of guaranteeing genuine independence because the Commission still passes through the normal appropriation process.

Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has criticised Governor Ademola Adeleke’s directive suspending all activities of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, across the state.

The opposition party, in a statement issued on Thursday by its Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, described the order as unconstitutional, illegal and beyond the governor’s powers.

The party also argued that the directive given to security agencies to halt NURTW operations and arrest anyone presenting themselves as a union official was not supported by the law.

DAILY POST had reported that Governor Adeleke had issued a directive after a security meeting, instructing the police and other security agencies to immediately stop all NURTW activities in Osun and arrest individuals claiming to be executives or officials of the union at motor parks.

The directive by Governor Adeleke preceded the announcement by the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, Osun State chapter, aligned with the All Progressives Congress, APC, installing a caretaker management committees for transport unions as part of measures aimed at restoring order following a leadership crisis.

The APC maintained that the governor’s action followed the recent leadership crisis within the NURTW, which led to the suspension of the union’s leadership and transport union activities in the state by local government authorities pending consultations with the union’s national leadership.

According to the party, “chairmen of the 30 local government councils and the Ife-East Area Office, Modakeke, had met with transport unions, including motorcycle and tricycle operators, and resolved to establish a caretaker management committee pending the emergence of substantive state leaders.”

The party alleged that the governor’s intervention amounted to interference in the affairs of a legally registered association and questioned the legal advice being provided to the state government.

It argued that “the directive contravened Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, which guarantees the right to freedom of association.

“The latest illegal directive issued by the outgoing Governor Adeleke dabbling into the affairs of the management of the motor parks by the NURTW across the state which is an association duly registered puts to question the quality of those offering legal advice to the embattled governor.”

The APC expressed confidence that security agencies would not enforce what it described as an unlawful directive, insisting that any disputes involving the union should be resolved through the courts rather than executive orders.

The party cited a Court of Appeal judgment involving the Oyo State Government and the NURTW, where the appellate court declared Governor Seyi Makinde’s 2019 suspension of the union’s activities unlawful and unconstitutional.

According to the APC, “the appellate court ruled that while state governments have a constitutional responsibility to maintain law and order, such powers must be exercised within the limits prescribed by law and cannot justify suspending the activities of a registered association without legal authority.”

Quoting part of the judgment, the party noted that “the Court of Appeal held that allegations of violence alone were insufficient to justify the suspension of the union without concrete evidence. Any unlawful conduct should instead be addressed through the appropriate security agencies and lawful judicial processes.”

The APC urged the governor to reverse the directive, insisting that the order was “repugnant, ultra vires, illegal, overreaching and grossly unconstitutional.”

It also maintained that it would not withstand judicial scrutiny if challenged in court. 

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