A new pan-Nigeria political coalition, Save Democracy Mega Alliance 2027 (SDMA’27), has announced plans to rally the country’s pro-democracy movements and opposition political parties to demand the amendment of the Nigerian constitution in two critical area towards the survival of democracy in the country.
The coalition said they are committed to rallying ethnic nationalities’, social-cultural organizations, organized labour, leaders of the country’s religious blocs and other leaders of thought to insist that the President should not have the powers to appoint the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and judicial officials.
Addressing a pre-launch launch press conference in Abuja, at the weekend, National spokesman of the movement, Comrade Tony Akeni Le Moin, who is also a founding co-convener of the movement, disclosed that the coalition shall be formally launched in all states of the federation and climax with a boot camp grand finale in Abuja on dates to be scheduled in the coming months.
Akeni Le Moin noted that the demands of the coalition are non-negotiable, including the “removal of the powers of the president and state governors to appoint the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), State Electoral Commissions and heads of the Nigerian judiciary at national and state levels respectively.”
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The Coalition also stated that those powers should be vested on a new body of non-partisan, integrity tested Nigerians whose selection and appointment process should be determined by “sacrosanct and inviolate character criteria that are beyond reproach.”
Also documents from the coalition sighted by journalists revealed that some eminent Nigerians across the six geopolitical zones, leadership of leading pro-democracy organizations and activists in different parts of the country have received and endorsed the two-prong advocacy of SDMA’27.
One of those is Prof. Pat Utomi, a professor of political economy and management luminary, hailed the goals of the alliance as “the next best thing to happen to Nigeria after the return to civil rule in 1999.”
According to Prof. Utomi, “Amending the Nigerian constitution to divest the powers of the president on appointment of INEC chairman and commissioners by insulating the commission from the influences of the executive arm was one of the cardinal recommendations of the Justice Uwais electoral reforms report.
“The same amendment should apply to the Nigerian judiciary which is vested with the function of post-election matters and adjudication. Transferring those powers to a clearly neutral apolitical body of statesmen is long overdue.”
Another document bearing the SDMA mission statement said the coalition will “coordinate nationwide consensus building efforts integrating Nigeria’s ethnic nationalities, virile opposition political parties, labour and civil society networks, interfaith leaders of thought, pro-democracy movements and progressive Nigeria diaspora concerns into one cohesive national demand action front to pragmatically engage the present leadership of Nigeria.”
