ROBERT CLARKE, SAN: ISSUE OF QUALIFICATIONIS PRE-ELECTION MATTER

Let me first clear this issue of Doctrine of Necessity. That doctrine has no place under the Constitution of Nigeria.

It was surreptitiously brought into the Constitution when President Yar’Adua died and they wanted something to be done. 

The Doctrine of Necessity only operates in a parliamentary system of government and not in a written Constitution like we are operating.

Nigeria has Constitution which has a provision that when the president is sick and cannot perform the Constitution has clear provision that the ministers must meet and pass a resolution as to his state of health and follow the laid down provisions.

So the Doctrine of Necessity is not part of our Constitution and can never arise again.

The question of Buhari’s qualification is a non-starter! 

I wouldn’t say the people raising it are naïve. The Constitution says ‘Minimum of School Certificate or its equivalent!’

Let me give you an example. I was doing an election in 2005 for one of the governors and somebody was challenging this same thing about school certificate. In open court and I said ‘You must be naïve!’ I didn’t know when I said it, but I had to apologise. 

I said ‘how somebody who is a chartered accountant and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants be challenged on his school certificate? It does not make sense!

How can you say a General in the Nigerian Army, who genuinely attained the rank of a General, who attended the War College in America, how can you say he is not qualified to contest?

It is naïve to say so and it is not for INEC to disqualify him. That is why the law says it is a pre-election matter. It has nothing to do with the election! 

An election petition will only be based upon the conduct of an election. Non qualification is a pre-election matter that you can bring up before the election.

So if Buhari’s opponents feel his not qualified, let them go to court now! I am not holding brief for Buhari. I am not his lawyer. Let them go court and challenge INEC and say ‘disqualify this man!’

The good thing is that even if the election holds, whatever the court says would be binding. I can assure you my first election petition was in 1978 in Damaturu. I did all the election petitions for NPN in Maiduguri in 1978. 

I have done so many election petitions and I am saying that this is a nonstarter and nobody should give any credence to it.

The only point they are raising, which is a technical point is that he never attached it. The Supreme Court says technicalities are no more in the realm of our jurisprudence and laws in Nigeria.  If you feel that this man has not got the minimum qualification, then go to court.