The Attorney General of Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, said on Tuesday in Abuja, that debate over zoning of the presidency between the North and South is unconstitutional and illegal.

Mr. Adoke, speaking at a roundtable meeting called "2011 Elections: Imperatives and Challenges for Credible Polls," called the debate "trivial" and urged Nigerians to focus on more important developmental issues. "I am indeed surprised that what was regarded as an internal arrangement of a political party has been elevated to the front burner while down-playing the express provisions of the constitution regulating who is qualified to contest election as president," he said.

The justice minister said that the process of evolving a new constitution would be incomplete without President Goodluck Jonathan assenting to it, as required by law, adding that he was alarmed that political parties were being more autocratic than democratic in the procedure for picking the candidate who should represent them at the general elections.

"It is alarming that whilst political parties openly canvass for the opening of the political space, they appear not to be ready to yield ground on the issue within their parties," he said. "To ensure the emergence of credible leaders who owe allegiance to the people, political parties must democratize the process of choosing their candidates. That is the only way we can develop the right political culture required to sustain our democracy."

Wasteful delays

Mr. Adoke commended the National and State House Assemblies for their recent role in amending the 1999 constitution. He said the amendments have strengthened the independence and autonomy of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and paved the way for credible election in 2011.

However, he decried the long delays in the resolution of election disputes, pointing out that such delays allows illegitimate occupants of elective offices to serve the greater part of their tenure before "the petition is disposed of in accordance with law."

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5599761-146/attorney_general_says_zoning_is_illegal.csp