INEC’s Regulatory Abdication Shrinking Democratic Space, Declares Umar Ardo

Former aide of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Dr Umar Ardo, has lamented that a recent meeting between the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the factional leaderships of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), held in response to the party’s internal crisis, represented not conflict management but regulatory abdication by the electoral umpire.

Ardo, in a statement, regretted that the meeting achieved nothing substantive, saying INEC was wrong to have even held that meeting in the first place.

“A regulator does not convene warring factions to dialogue their way out of breaches of law; it enforces compliance! Anything short of that signals weakness, confusion of role or even worse.

“INEC is not a mediator, a reconciliatory committee or a peace-building NGO. It is a constitutional and statutory regulatory agency, armed with clear powers under the Constitution, the Electoral Act and its own guidelines.

“When internal party processes collapse, when congresses are disputed, when parallel executives emerge, neither the law nor common sense requires INEC to host joint meetings of antagonistic factions. What is required is for INEC to determine compliance, recognise legality and apply sanctions where necessary.”

Ardo said by sitting both factions together “to strengthen compliance,” INEC blurred the line between regulation and appeasement.

“Compliance is not strengthened through appeals to unity; it is strengthened through predictable enforcement. Regulatory credibility rests on certainty, not conversation. A referee who calls the players together to plead for fair play instead of enforcing the rules invites chaos, not order.

“If this is the governing philosophy of the new INEC leadership, then Nigerians should temper their expectations. Electoral integrity cannot be built on soft persuasion where firm authority is required.

“Political parties are not voluntary associations operating by goodwill; they are legal entities governed by enforceable rules. When INEC substitutes decisiveness with diplomacy, it emboldens impunity and rewards disorder.

“This failure of regulatory clarity becomes even more troubling when viewed alongside INEC’s recent refusal to register new political parties, despite the fact that several political associations – most notably the All Democratic Alliance (ADA) – have demonstrably fulfilled all constitutional and statutory requirements for registration.

“The law is unambiguous: where requirements are met, registration is not a favour; it is an obligation! INEC lacks discretionary powers on this matter; it is compulsory! INEC’s inaction and silence on this crucial issue amount to an administrative veto not contemplated by law.

“The consequence is the systematic closure of Nigeria’s political space, denying citizens the right to organise freely and offering voters a shrinking menu of political choices.”