Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for urgent reforms in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to restore public trust in the electoral process.
Speaking via a recorded video at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum held at Yale University in the United States, Obasanjo stressed the importance of appointing credible individuals to lead the electoral body at all levels.
He urged Nigerians to ensure that the INEC chairperson and staff undergo rigorous vetting to guarantee that only non-partisan individuals with impeccable reputations oversee elections.
He said, “As a matter of urgency, we must make sure the INEC chairperson and his or her staff are thoroughly vetted. The vetting exercise should yield dispassionate, non-partisan, actors with impeccable reputations.
“Nigeria must ensure the appointment of new credible INEC leadership at the federal, state, local government and municipal – city, town, and village levels – with short tenures – to prevent undesirable political influence and corruption, and re-establish trust in the electoral systems by its citizens.
“The INEC chairperson must not only be absolutely above board, he must also be transparently independent and incorruptible.”
Obasanjo described the 2023 general elections in Nigeria as “a travesty,” emphasizing that the flawed process highlighted the urgent need for comprehensive electoral reforms. He pointed out that the failure to address these issues risks further eroding public confidence in the system.
The former president proposed short tenures for INEC officials to prevent political interference and corruption. He also called for strict enforcement of financial regulations for political campaigns and safeguarding voting infrastructure, including the use of technology to collate and transmit results.
“Prior to elections, we should have a transparent exercise (witnessed by international observers) where so called ‘penetration testing of the election system and infrastructure’ is conducted for all to witness and verify.
“Nigeria must ensure the physical security of the commissions and voters. Our security apparatus must be professionally trained to protect our citizens during elections not to be participants in electoral malfeasance.
“INEC must ensure that it institutes ballot security to prevent tinkering or unauthorised access – manually or by cybercriminals. Ballot security also means the secure storage and transport of ballots to collation centres to prevent any form of interference,” he emphasised.
Reflecting on the 2023 elections, Obasanjo criticized INEC for failing to implement promised technologies like the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the Election Result Viewing Portal. He argued that this deliberate failure resulted in widespread irregularities, stating, “It was a case of inviting the fox into the hen house.”
Obasanjo also recommended transparent audits after elections to reassure stakeholders and citizens. He warned that allowing corrupt politicians to manipulate the system undermines democracy, adding, “Politicians corruptly getting themselves declared as winner…is the easiest and best way to kill electoral democracy.”
