by Mark Amaza

A feature of many democracies is the provision of regulations where an elected official can be recalled by his/her constituency if the constituency believes that they do not think the official is performing up to expectations and do not want to wait until the next elections cycle.

Nigeria is not an exception to this: Sections 69 and 110 of the 1999 Constitution lays out a pretty simple procedure for recalling a legislator whether at the state or federal level where once a petition is signed by more than one-half of the legislator’s constituency, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is now compelled to organise a referendum within 90 days by which the legislator’s recall or otherwise will be decided by a simple majority.

However, since the start of the Fourth Republic, no legislator has ever been recalled. This is pretty interesting considering the generally high levels of dissatisfaction most Nigerians have with their parliamentarians – often seen as only amassing huge salaries and allowances without delivering any real change.

One huge reason for this is the fact that many Nigerians are even unaware of the fact that they do not have to wait until after four years to show their angst against their representative by voting him out. Sections 69 and 110 are evidently not the most known parts of the Constitution.

But another reason is the amount of organising needed to achieve a legislative recall – one will need to mount a massive campaign to mobilise registered voters to centres where they can sign the petition before it can be presented to INEC. To achieve this, money is inevitably needed – and unless those behind the recall have pockets as deep as those of the legislators they are against, the mission often looks dead on arrival.

To date, there have been only two serious attempts at recalling legislators – the first was against Senator Bala Mohammed, then representing Bauchi South in the 6th Assembly. The raison d’etre for this recall drive was Senator Mohammed’s clash with then Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda over the former’s relentless criticism of him for defecting from the now-defunct All Nigeria Peoples’ Party (ANPP) to the Peoples’ Democratic Party.

Mohammed’s recall looked like a done deal until respite came for him in the form of his appointment as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory by former President Goodluck Jonathan in May 2010. Ironically, Mohammed also shortly defected to the PDP, although he continued to be at daggers drawn with Governor Yuguda.

The second attempt is the ongoing drive to collect enough voters’ signature to recall Senator Dino Melaye (APC – Kogi West) from the National Assembly. Again, this drive seems to be funded and run from the Kogi State Government House as Senator Melaye and Governor Yahaya Bello have been clashing with each other with the 2019 gubernatorial elections as the motivation.

It is not in doubt that this is a case of power play by two politicians with the voters being used as pawns; in such situations, it is often best to not have a favourite horse in the race. But what are the implications of a recall for the Nigerian democracy?

A successful recall will undoubtedly prove to Nigerian voters that it is possible to exercise their power in bringing home an under-performing legislator without having to wait till elections. This transfers more power into the hands of voters and is likely to make legislators be more alive to their responsibilities.

Also, it could encourage groups that have serious intent on recalling legislators to be more organised in pursuing their goal knowing that it is achievable.

However, it provides politicians, especially state governors with another weapon in their armoury when they clash with legislators from their states. With access to almost limitless resources (sadly, public funds), they are able to mount a recall campaign against their adversaries and will also not have to wait until elections.

As the Melaye recall campaign intensifies, it waits to be seen if the Kogi senator will be a test case for legislative recall in Nigeria.