2023: CPIC warns politicians against frivolous petitions
Ahead of the 2023 general election, the Independent Commission on Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses (ICPC) warned politicians to refrain from sending frivolous petitions against political opponents.
ICPC Chairman Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye said this as he welcomed the leadership of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) to the headquarters of the Commission.
Owasanoye noted that some politicians tend to arm anti-corruption agencies with politically motivated petitions in order to outwit their opponents, warning that such measures will not work with the ICPC.
"Typically, when competition season rolls around, there's a spike in politically motivated petitions for wild goose lawsuits. Some are cheeky enough to tell you that "we should make sure we stop Mr. A. challenge" and they'll petition. That's not our job, and we're not going to get involved in these things.
"We're basically shelving these types of petitions. Even if there's an implication of merit in the complaint, we'll say, 'go compete first.' We're not going to be the one to use for you give the fair or unfair advantage. When the contest is over, we will decide whether or not what you came up with is worth it."
ICPC spokeswoman Azuka Ogugua quoted the ICPC boss in a statement yesterday as saying that the commission had an existing agreement with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on how to proceed with real election petitions when needed.< /p>
"We have an agreement with INEC that in cases where applicants challenge themselves in court and the ruling says someone has tampered with a certificate for example, INEC will send us those things, and we are pursuing a few of them at the moment. These are ways to add value without compromising ourselves or exposing our officers to the compromise and desperation of politicians during the competition,” he said. /p>
The ICPC boss also challenged political parties to self-verify the candidates they field, as the fortunes of any nation depend on the kind of leaders they get, noting that the pruning process should start with political parties so that "charity should start at home".
Earlier in his remarks, IPAC Chairman, Engineer Yabagi Sani, said the reason for the visit was the effective collaboration and support of the anti-corruption agency to ensure that the politicians of questionable character are not elected.
He said: "The activities that will lead to the emergence of a government to preside over the affairs of this nation is something that all stakeholders must adhere to in order to have free, fair and credible elections in 2023. .< /p>
"Politics is crisis management and we believe that if we get leaders recruited well, which will come from the due diligence that we are supposed to do, they (political office holders) will behave like one way it will give this country the kind of respect that we are supposed to show in the eyes of the committee of nations, that is, by ensuring that the governance is free from all forms of corruption.
Ahead of the 2023 general election, the Independent Commission on Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses (ICPC) warned politicians to refrain from sending frivolous petitions against political opponents.
ICPC Chairman Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye said this as he welcomed the leadership of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) to the headquarters of the Commission.
Owasanoye noted that some politicians tend to arm anti-corruption agencies with politically motivated petitions in order to outwit their opponents, warning that such measures will not work with the ICPC.
"Typically, when competition season rolls around, there's a spike in politically motivated petitions for wild goose lawsuits. Some are cheeky enough to tell you that "we should make sure we stop Mr. A. challenge" and they'll petition. That's not our job, and we're not going to get involved in these things.
"We're basically shelving these types of petitions. Even if there's an implication of merit in the complaint, we'll say, 'go compete first.' We're not going to be the one to use for you give the fair or unfair advantage. When the contest is over, we will decide whether or not what you came up with is worth it."
ICPC spokeswoman Azuka Ogugua quoted the ICPC boss in a statement yesterday as saying that the commission had an existing agreement with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on how to proceed with real election petitions when needed.< /p>
"We have an agreement with INEC that in cases where applicants challenge themselves in court and the ruling says someone has tampered with a certificate for example, INEC will send us those things, and we are pursuing a few of them at the moment. These are ways to add value without compromising ourselves or exposing our officers to the compromise and desperation of politicians during the competition,” he said. /p>
The ICPC boss also challenged political parties to self-verify the candidates they field, as the fortunes of any nation depend on the kind of leaders they get, noting that the pruning process should start with political parties so that "charity should start at home".
Earlier in his remarks, IPAC Chairman, Engineer Yabagi Sani, said the reason for the visit was the effective collaboration and support of the anti-corruption agency to ensure that the politicians of questionable character are not elected.
He said: "The activities that will lead to the emergence of a government to preside over the affairs of this nation is something that all stakeholders must adhere to in order to have free, fair and credible elections in 2023. .< /p>
"Politics is crisis management and we believe that if we get leaders recruited well, which will come from the due diligence that we are supposed to do, they (political office holders) will behave like one way it will give this country the kind of respect that we are supposed to show in the eyes of the committee of nations, that is, by ensuring that the governance is free from all forms of corruption.
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