Former President Goodluck Jonathan has urged the National Assembly to reform Nigeria’s electoral dispute system by establishing a Constitutional Court to exclusively handle election-related cases.
He made this call in Abuja during the 70th birthday celebration and book launch of former Ogun State governor, Gbenga Daniel.
Jonathan said a specialised court would streamline the resolution of electoral disputes, reduce the burden on the judiciary, and eliminate unnecessary delays by limiting litigation to a single stage.
He faulted the current process for governorship election petitions, which passes through election tribunals, the Court of Appeal, and finally the Supreme Court of Nigeria, describing it as prolonged and inefficient.
Recalling past experiences, Jonathan cited a 2011 governorship case where a candidate lost due to a technicality involving the use of the wrong ink colour during voting. He noted that votes marked with black or green ink were voided because the law required red ink, a decision upheld despite objections at the tribunal level.
Although the law was later amended to allow such cases reach the Supreme Court, Jonathan said the reform did not solve the problem of delayed justice.
He recommended adopting a system similar to that in some Francophone African countries, where Constitutional Courts are solely responsible for electoral matters. According to him, this approach would ensure quicker and more decisive rulings.
Jonathan also stressed the need for a firm and impartial judiciary, comparing judges to referees in football who must enforce rules to maintain fairness and order.
He praised Daniel as a pragmatic leader with an engineering mindset and commended his efforts in documenting his experiences, noting that personal accounts help counter misinformation.
The event was attended by President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, as well as former President Olusegun Obasanjo and other prominent figures.
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