Senator Ali Ndume, representing Southern Borno, has criticized Nigeria’s electoral system, claiming it is deliberately made complex to allow for manipulation. Ndume shared his concerns during an interactive session with journalists in Kano on Sunday, following his participation in the Senate retreat on constitutional review.
The senator, who previously served as the Senate Majority Leader, expressed dissatisfaction with the need for multiple bodies to oversee elections, especially when the existing Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) could handle the responsibility. According to Ndume, the country’s electoral process should be simplified rather than creating more commissions that would further complicate things.
He argued that the idea of forming a new body, specifically a National Local Government Electoral Commission, is unnecessary and counterproductive.
“I support local government autonomy and the idea of INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) conducting local government polls. One issue being discussed in the National Assembly is the creation of a National Local Government Electoral Commission, and I am not in support of it.
“The elections in Nigeria are deliberately complicated to allow for manipulation. Why don’t we make laws that ensure the votes count? Why not enable citizens to elect someone from their phones? Why not allow INEC to monitor elections through technology and create a situation room? Google can tell you your location in real-time, so why can’t we leverage technology for our elections?” he asked.
