Why courts shouldn’t decide election winners – Mutfwang, Falana, others

Nigeria must ensure that true winners of elections emerge before swearing in, Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, human rights activist Femi Falana and others have said.

They spoke separately at the Haske Satumari Foundation annual colloquium with the theme, “Electoral and Judicial Reforms: The Imperatives on Nigeria’s Democracy, Governance, Leadership and its Selection Processes,” held on Thursday in Abuja.

Governor Mutfwang, who expressed concern over various court pronouncements on the 2023 election petitions, said since leadership has become crucial, it will be unfashionable to allow the judges and lawyers to decide the true winner of elections.

A human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, alleged that some lawyers in Nigeria deliberately sabotage the system, insisting that Nigerians must not allow lawyers and judges to decide who is an elected representative.

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“Judges are not suited to determine who wins elections because they were not there. The winner should be determined by the electorate and not judges,” Falana said.

A former president, Goodluck Jonathan, who was represented by former vice president Namadi Sambo, said he hoped that the outcome of the colloquium would help in the development of Nigeria.

The Mayor of Entebbe in Uganda, Fabrice Rulinda, said Africa must develop its style of democracy that works for the continent, adding that even in the US, not everybody elects their president.