Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for a sweeping reform of Nigeria’s electoral system, demanding the immediate dismissal of Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and other officials involved in overseeing the country’s elections.
In a speech at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum at Yale University in the United States, Obasanjo criticized the 2023 general election, calling it a “travesty” and stressing the need to restore public trust and credibility in Nigeria’s electoral processes.
Obasanjo emphasized the urgency of revamping INEC’s leadership, proposing a rigorous vetting process for officials at all levels.
He argued that INEC staff should be thoroughly scrutinized to ensure they are non-partisan, reputable individuals committed to fair elections.
“The current leadership of INEC must be replaced with new, credible personnel at the federal, state, and local levels. These officials should serve short tenures to prevent undue political influence and corruption. We need leaders who are not only incorruptible but also transparent and independent in their roles.”
He also highlighted what he saw as INEC’s failure to fully utilize technological tools designed to enhance election transparency, particularly the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Election Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
Despite assurances from Yakubu that these technologies would be employed to ensure credible elections, Obasanjo accused INEC of deliberately failing to implement them during the 2023 presidential election.
“The BVAS and IReV were introduced as technological solutions to improve election accuracy, prevent rigging, and boost public confidence. However, INEC’s failure to use these tools effectively led to widespread irregularities. It was a deliberate oversight, akin to allowing the fox into the henhouse.”
