What is Interim government and what does the law say about it? A Neusroom explainer
Nigeria’s first and only experience with an interim government at the federal level since independence was in 1993 after General Ibrahim Babangida annulled the June 12, 1993, presidential poll.
The election, which was adjudged free and fair by both international and local observers, saw Moshood Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) defeating Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRC). However, the country was thrown into series of civil unrest when Babangida annulled the election.
Faced with intense pressure to resign from office, Babangida announced he was stepping aside from office and handed power to Ernest Shonekan as interim Head of State on August 27, 1993.
In the run-up to the 2023 Presidential Election and since the conclusion of the crucial election, there have been speculations about plans by some political figures to prevent the inauguration of the president-elect Bola Tinubu and install an interim government. The Department of State Services (DSS) gave credence to the speculation on March 29, 2023, when it said it had identified key players plotting for an interim government in Nigeria.
The DSS in a statement by its spokesperson Peter Afunanya, said that the plot is illegal and would undermine Nigeria’s democracy.
“The Service considers the plot, being pursued by these entrenched interests, as not only an aberration but a mischievous way to set aside the constitution and undermine civil rule as well as plunge the country into an avoidable crisis. The illegality is totally unacceptable in a democracy and to the peace-loving Nigerians,” it reads in part.
What is an Interim Government?
In moments of political instability or war, an interim government can be put in place to govern the country for a specific period. An interim government is a temporary administration put in place, usually during a transition period from one government to another, designed to maintain stability and continuity in governance while the process of democratic transition or constitutional reform takes place.
While Nigeria has enjoyed 24 years of uninterrupted democratic rule, Africa is not new to interim government. In 2014, the Central African Republic (CAR) established an interim government led by Catherine Samba-Panza after the Seleka rebel group overthrew the government in 2013. It was not until 2016 that election were held, and the interim government handed over power to a democratically-elected government.
From Sudan, where a caretaker government was put in place following the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir in 2019, to Mali where a military coup ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar in 2020, the plot uncovered by DSS has cast a shadow on the scenarios allowed by the Nigerian constitution before an interim government is established.
Habib Abdulfatah, a legal practitioner, told Neusroom in January 2023, that “the only time a sitting President can still stay in power beyond his tenure is when the country is at war, and this is provided under section 135 (3) of the 1999 constitution as amended.”
The law says:
“If the Federation is at war in which the territory of Nigeria is physically involved, and the President considers that it is not practicable to hold elections, the National Assembly may, by resolution, extend the period of four years mentioned in subsection (2) of this section from time to time, but no such extension shall exceed a period of six months at any one time.”
War, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is “a state of armed conflict between different countries or different groups within a country,” and some legal experts disagree on the definition as it relates to the constitution.
Although the elections are over, Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) are seeking for the elections to be annulled through a lawsuit.
However, the DSS failed to uncover the identities of those behind the plot. Bulama Bukarti, a lawyer and security expert, says that the move is criminal, unconstitutional, and punishable by death.
“What these individuals are planning is called treason under our criminal laws, and it carries the death penalty.”
