Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for the dismissal of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, along with other officials of the commission, as part of broader electoral reforms in Nigeria.
Obasanjo made this call in a paper presented at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum at Yale University in the United States.
The paper, titled “Leadership Failure and State Capture in Nigeria,” was delivered via a pre-recorded video at the forum. In his address, Obasanjo criticized the 2023 general election, labeling it a “travesty,” and emphasized the urgent need to reform the country’s electoral system.
The former president also advocated for shorter terms for INEC officials, along with a more rigorous vetting process to ensure that only impartial individuals are appointed to the commission.
“As a matter of urgency, we must ensure the INEC Chairperson and their staff are thoroughly vetted. The vetting exercise should produce 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 to re-establish trust in the electoral system by its citizens,” he said.
He argued that “The INEC Chairperson must not only be absolutely above board but must also be transparently independent and incorruptible.”
Mr. Obasanjo stated that the commission deliberately failed to use two key technological tools available to it—the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Election Result Viewing Portal (IReV)—during the 2023 presidential election, despite assurances given by Mr. Yakubu.
“The BVAS and IReV are two technological innovations that, prior to 2023, were celebrated for their potential to enhance the accuracy and transparency of our election results, eliminate the threat of election rigging, and boost public trust in electoral outcomes.
“These technologies were touted by the INEC chairman himself. In the end, these technologies did not fail. INEC wilfully failed to use or implement them, which resulted in widespread voting irregularities. It was a case of inviting the fox into the henhouse,” he said.
In addition to Mr. Obasanjo, other notable Nigerians at the event included Peter Obi, the Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, and former Minister Oby Ezekwesili.
Mr. Obi took part in two distinct panel sessions: one on “Leadership and Democracy in Africa” and another titled “Intergenerational Panel: Young People and the Future of Leadership in Africa.”
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