Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has said that positions in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be open for public application.
Falana made this known on Wednesday during an interview on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television. He was reacting to the way the INEC chairman and other top officials are appointed in Nigeria.
Since the country’s return to democracy in 1999, the President has always appointed INEC chairmen.
Falana explained that for Nigeria’s electoral body to be truly independent, vacancies should be advertised so that qualified and credible people can apply.
He said: “Positions in INEC should be advertised as recommended by the Uwais panel. Some other African countries already do this to make their electoral bodies more transparent.
“The Uwais panel in 2008 recommended that members of the electoral commission should be chosen through open advertisement. That way, men and women of integrity can apply, and the public can raise objections if any applicant is not qualified.”