Former President Goodluck Jonathan says Nigeria’s election disputes are dragging for too long — and wants a single court to handle them once and for all.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has urged the National Assembly of Nigeria to overhaul the country’s electoral litigation system by creating a specialised Constitutional Court to handle all election-related cases.
Speaking in Abuja at the 70th birthday and book launch of Gbenga Daniel, Jonathan said the current three-stage legal battle for governorship elections — tribunal, appeal court and Supreme Court — is slow, costly and inefficient.
He recalled a shocking 2011 case where a governor lost his seat because voters used the “wrong colour of ink,” after polling officials failed to provide red pens. The votes were cancelled and the decision upheld on appeal — a moment Jonathan said exposed the flaws in Nigeria’s electoral laws.
Although the law was later amended to allow governorship cases reach the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Jonathan said the long litigation timeline remains a major problem. His solution: one specialised court to handle all political cases in a single phase, similar to constitutional courts in many Francophone African countries.
He also challenged the judiciary to act firmly, likening judges to football referees: if they look away, players will break legs or score with their hands.
Jonathan praised Daniel as a “constructive leader” and commended him for documenting his life in books, stressing that personal accounts help correct public misconceptions.
The event drew top political figures including Olusegun Obasanjo and Bola Tinubu, represented by Finance Minister Wale Edun.
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