With barely one month to the February 16 election, it has been observed that some civil and public servants who are contesting for various elective positions are yet to resign from their employment contrary to extant provisions in the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act. Apart from stalling activities in their various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), their action has one way or the other impacted negatively on governance in the country.
It is inelegant that these officers refused to resign their appointments when they opted to vie for elections. Therefore, we call on President Muhammadu Buhari to ask those vying for elective offices to resign forthwith. They should not use government apparatus to campaign.
Beyond being untidy, it is immoral to do so. All the civil and public servants going for elections must quit so that there will be efficiency in the public service. Although the extant laws gave such officers 30 days before the date of the election to quit, it is better they even do so before the date so that they can have enough time for politics. It is even not advisable to serve two masters at the same time.
The Constitution and the Electoral Act are very explicit on disqualification of candidates for elections. For the presidential election, Section 137 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) provides that “A person shall not be qualified for election to the office of the president if being a person employed in the civil or public service of the Federation or of any State, he has not resigned, withdrawn or retired from the employment at least thirty days before the date of the election.”
For election into the Senate or the House of Representatives, Section 66 (1) (f) of the Constitution says that “No person shall be qualified for election to the Senate or the House of Representatives if he is a person employed in the public service of the Federation or of any State and has not resigned, withdrawn or retired from such employment thirty days before the date of the election.”
Similarly, for governorship election, Section 182 (1) (g) of the extant Nigerian Constitution states that “No person shall be qualified for election to the office of Governor of a State if being a person employed in the public service of the Federation or of any State, he has not resigned, withdrawn or retired from the employment at least thirty days to the date of the election.”
Also for those vying for membership of House of Assembly, Section 107 (1) (f) states clearly that “No person shall be qualified for election to a House of Assembly if he is a person employed in the public service of the Federation or of any State and he has not resigned, withdrawn or retired from such employment thirty days before the date of the election.”
For Area Council election, Section 107 (1) (f) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) states that “A person shall not be qualified to contest an Area Council election under this Act if he is person employed in the public service of the Federation or of any
State or Area Council (other than a person holding elective office) and he has not resigned, withdrawn or retired from such employment 30 days before the date of the election.”
It is worth pointing out that the framers of the Constitution and the Electoral Act considered that, to avoid the inevitable conflict of interest, anyone vying for an elective office is required to resign from the public service of the Federal Government or of a State at least 30 days before the election. Perhaps, another reason for this entrenched requirement is that “no one should eat his or her cake and have it.”
It is also to allow the person involved to either focus as a politician or a public servant. For anyone to do well in his profession, he must focus and concentrate on one. Doing two things at the same time does not yield positive results. Furthermore, the statutory requirement seeks to foreclose jumping from one profession to another in the event of unforeseen disappointment in the other.
Above all, we believe that the requirement seeks to inject professional discipline in public servants who should make sure that their political ambitions are genuine and actuated by an honest desire to serve the people. We condemn this unbecoming attitude of some of the candidates vying for the elections and ask them to resign from the employment as stipulated in the extant Nigerian laws.
We, therefore, call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to wake up to its responsibility and call the affected candidates to order. The electoral umpire can even disqualify them for not abiding by the provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act on elections. One of the ways to ensure that the 2019 election is free, fair and credible is to ensure that the process is not tainted.
