The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has called for the power to appoint the chairman, commissioners, and secretary of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be moved from the presidency to an independent panel.
IPAC National Chairman, Yusuf Dantalle, made the appeal during a meeting convened by the House of Representatives Committee on Constitutional Review for political party leaders in Abuja.
Dantalle said the move would help ensure INEC’s independence and boost public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process.
He explained that under the proposal, an Independent Appointment Committee (IAC) would be established, comprising representatives of all registered political parties, civil society organisations, the National Judicial Council (NJC), and a joint committee of the National Assembly drawn from both majority and minority caucuses in the Senate and House of Representatives.
Dantalle further proposed the scrapping of State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), with the responsibility of conducting local government elections transferred to INEC.
“IPAC has been championing local government autonomy. Politics is local, and citizens should be encouraged to participate in grassroots democracy that guarantees free, fair, and credible local government elections,” he stated.
He also called for the restoration of funding for political parties to ensure a “level playing field” for all parties.