Senior Advocate of Nigeria Femi Falana has called for a more independent method in the selection process for the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Falana asserted that a thorough process for selecting the electoral body chairman will go a long way to freeing it from external control.

Falana opined that advertising the vacant positions of members of the electoral commission and resident electoral commissioners, as recommended by the Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais panel in 2008, would justify the independence of INEC.

According to him, such a process was already in place in African countries.

He said, “What other countries in Africa have done, Lesotho, Botswana, and the rest of them, is to put in place a mechanism whereby vacant positions in the electoral bodies are advertised.

“And this was the recommendation of the Uwais Panel as far back as 2008, that in choosing members of the electoral commission and resident electoral commissioners, we should advertise the positions.

“Right now, such an advert has just been published in Lesotho, an African country, so that those who believe they are credible will conduct good elections, men and women of character and integrity will apply.

“Members of the public will be given the opportunity to object to any of them who are not qualified morally or otherwise. And then the names are shortlisted, and the best three are sent to the National Assembly.”

The Uwais Panel had recommended that the National Judicial Council be the body that will scrutinise the candidates and recommend the best three.

“So the President will simply take the names to the National Assembly for the legislators to choose from the list.

“This goes a long way to make the body free from control,” the SAN added.