Bishop Isaac Idahosa, the 2023 Vice-Presidential Candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct presidential, senatorial, and gubernatorial elections on the same day.
He believes this approach will cut costs and improve election outcomes.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, Idahosa advocated for a more streamlined electoral process, stating:
“I would like to suggest that all elections be conducted on the same day. That will help curb a lot of issues—presidential, senatorial, gubernatorial, all on the same day. It will cut costs and produce the desired results. But when elections are spread over one or two weeks after the presidential poll, a lot can happen—a bandwagon effect can take place.”
Beyond cost-saving measures, Idahosa emphasized the need for accountability within INEC and among public officials responsible for electoral failures.
“We don’t punish anyone for wrongdoing; there are no consequences, so they keep repeating the same actions,” he said.
“INEC makes mistakes, yet no one holds them accountable, and then the same mistakes happen again. Once there are no consequences for actions or inactions, the cycle continues because there is no accountability.”
As part of the 2023 general elections, INEC introduced the Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
However, many politicians raised concerns about their effectiveness, while INEC attributed some of their shortcomings to technical glitches.
Idahosa, a close ally of former Kano governor and 2023 NNPP presidential candidate Rabiu Kwankwaso, was part of the election in which his party finished fourth with 1,496,687 votes.
The final results saw Bola Tinubu of the APC win with 8,794,726 votes, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP secure 6,984,520 votes, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party garner 6,101,533 votes.
Despite challenges in court, the Supreme Court ruled that the inability to upload results on IReV was not sufficient to annul the election.
Idahosa also decried the growing influence of money in Nigerian politics, stating:
“Some individuals in government have become more powerful than institutions, negatively affecting governance in the country. Money politics has taken over the system.”
