Former President Goodluck Jonathan has called on the National Assembly to overhaul Nigeria’s electoral dispute resolution system, proposing the creation of a Constitutional Court dedicated to handling election-related cases.
He made the recommendation on Wednesday in Abuja during the 70th birthday celebration and book launch of former Ogun State governor, Gbenga Daniel.
Jonathan argued that a specialised court would simplify the adjudication of electoral disputes, reduce pressure on the judiciary, and ensure faster resolution of cases by limiting them to a single stage.
He criticised the current three-tier process for governorship election petitions—moving from election tribunals to the Court of Appeal and ultimately the Supreme Court of Nigeria—describing it as slow and inefficient.
Reflecting on past electoral cases, Jonathan recalled a controversial 2011 governorship dispute in which a candidate lost due to a technical issue involving the prescribed ink colour for voting. He noted that ballots marked with black or green ink were invalidated because the law required red ink, a decision upheld on appeal despite objections from the lower tribunal.
Although the law was later amended to allow governorship election cases reach the apex court, Jonathan said the reform failed to address the problem of prolonged litigation.
He suggested that Nigeria adopt a model similar to that used in some Francophone African countries, where Constitutional Courts exclusively handle electoral and political disputes.
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According to him, if the Supreme Court remains the final authority on governorship elections, cases should bypass lower tribunals to avoid unnecessary delays. However, he maintained that the best approach would be to establish a single tribunal dedicated to political litigation.
Jonathan also urged the judiciary to be firm and impartial in order to strengthen Nigeria’s democratic system, likening judges to referees in a football match who must enforce rules to maintain fairness.
Speaking on Daniel, he described him as a pragmatic and constructive leader who brought an engineering mindset into governance. He also commended the former governor for documenting his experiences in books, noting that such efforts help set the record straight amid widespread misinformation.
The event drew prominent figures, including President Bola Tinubu, who was represented by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, as well as former President Olusegun Obasanjo, traditional rulers, and other key political stakeholders.
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