Onaiyekan and Osigwe say elections should be settled at the polls

Cardinal John Onaiyekan and former Nigerian Bar Association president Afam Osigwe have warned that Nigeria’s elections should be won at the ballot box, not settled months later through long court battles.

The warning came at the 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference in Enugu, where speakers linked the credibility of the 2027 elections to reforms in the way disputes are handled and in how electoral officials are appointed.

Onaiyekan said the judiciary should resolve disputes arising from elections, not become the place where winners are effectively chosen. He argued that election cases should be concluded before elected officials are sworn in, and called for voters to have a clearer role in litigation over disputed results.

He also proposed a review of the process for appointing the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission and said a presidential candidate should need at least 50 per cent of votes cast to be declared winner.

Osigwe also argued that electoral disputes should not drag on after inauguration. Vanguard reported the same Enugu conference and the same central warning that courtrooms should not become the final arena for deciding electoral victories.

Sources: Daily Post, Vanguard