Nigerians are increasingly voicing their discontent with the performance of lawmakers in Federal and State Houses of Assembly, yet the recall process to hold elected representatives accountable remains a cumbersome hurdle for citizens.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which oversees the process recently published a revised guideline for the recall of lawmakers, but citizens express concerns that the bureaucratic hurdles, extensive paperwork, and the high threshold of signatures required are insurmountable, and have urged a review of the law.
A recall is the constitutional power of voters to unseat a serving lawmaker who they have lost confidence in before the end of their term. However, the process outlined in Section 69 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) which an expert describes as an essential mechanism for holding elected officials accountable and strengthening democratic principles, is so stringent that no federal or state legislator has ever been successfully recalled.
The most daunting requirement highlighted by Nigerians and political experts is the need for more than half of the registered voters in a lawmaker’s constituency to sign a petition, a threshold many Nigerians deem unattainable.
The petition must then be verified by INEC, and if successful, a referendum will be conducted within 90 days. The outcome of the referendum will be binding, and the affected lawmaker will be removed from office if the majority of voters approve the recall.
Nigerians, while reacting to the revised INEC guidelines argued that the required 50+1 percent of total registered voters in the constituency is unrealistic, given that only a proportion of voters partake in the electoral process. They urged a review of the law to over 50 percent of voters who elected the representative.
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“It never and will never work. How can you get half of the registered voters when INEC hardly records 40 percent votes?” Prince Shedrack queried on an X platform
“That’s a good development. But I am of the opinion that half the number of total votes cast during the lawmaker’s election should be used instead of the number of voters in his constituency. That will be fair to voters who elected him because many people don’t go to cast votes on election day”, Jumba Hassan said.
Also expressing his frustration over the process, Don yo malems wrote on X, “Does half of the registered voters in a constituency even vote? What madness is this for God’s sake?”
Ike Ekweremadu, a former deputy Senate president once described the recall process as “dead on arrival”.
“It’s a long process, after the verification of votes,” Ekweremadu said during a recall process involving Dino Melaye, a former serving senator from Kogi State.
Ekweremadu admitted on the floor of the Senate that the constitution made recall a cumbersome process, and, as such, would be difficult for Melaye to be recalled. Melaye’s recall eventually failed because INEC only verified 5.34 percent instead of 50.1 percent signatories to the petition.
In recent months, BusinessDay observed that Nigerians across several constituencies have publicly expressed their dissatisfaction with their elected representatives and expressed interest in removing them. INEC also reported that it has received many requests from different groups across the country, seeking the recall of their representatives from National and State Assemblies.
For instance, the constituents of Kaura Namoda-Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State notified INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu, of their resolve to recall Aminu Sani Jaji from the House of Representatives over poor performance. In the same month, citizens from Zamfara North Senatorial District signalled interest in recalling Sahabi Ya’u.
In July, following an alleged poor representation and performance, Ondo youths under the umbrella of Akure Youths Forum, passed a vote of no confidence in Derin Abiodun Adesida, a member representing Akure South/North Federal Constituency.
In August, the people of the Iwo Constituency in Osun State threatened to recall the lawmaker representing them, Rabiu Atanda, for alleged poor representation. The same month, a socio-political group, known as the Ngwa Rangers, threatened to recall the House of Representatives member for Obingwa/Osisioma/Ugwunagbo Federal Constituency, Munachim Alozie, alleging that the lawmaker has been noticeably absent from both his duties and in the eye of the public.
Also, constituents of Kebbi South Senatorial District petitioned INEC, seeking the recall of Garba Maidoki, a senator representing the district and Garba Uba in the House of Representatives for neglecting constituents’ needs and concerns.
These efforts are likely to face the same uphill battle as previous attempts, and experts have urged a simplification of the process to enable citizens demand accountability.
Innocent Uja, a civil society advocate, described the recall process as “an insurmountable task for Nigerians,” adding that “the procedure seems more like a legal obstacle designed to protect lawmakers rather than empower citizens.”
He, however, noted that recall provides a mechanism for the public or members of an organisation to hold elected or appointed officials accountable for their performance.
He said if successful, a recall will allow for the installation of more competent leadership.
Oke Epia, executive director of Order Paper Advocacy Initiative, noted that if lawmakers are aware that they can be recalled successfully from parliament, they will more likely deliver services to their constituents.
“One of the things that we’ve had difficulties in implementing is the recall of members of parliament, it’s cumbersome as provided by the statutes. It’s almost impossible to recall a member of parliament.”
