Nigeria urgently needs ‘transparent’, ‘independent’, ‘incorruptible’ INEC chairman – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says the country urgently needs new, credible leaders for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Obasanjo also said the new INEC chairman should have a short tenure to prevent corruption and re-establish trust.

He spoke during the Chinua Achebe leadership forum held at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

In his keynote address at the forum titled ‘Leadership failure and state capture in Nigeria,’ Obasanjo described the 2023 general elections as a “travesty”.

The former president said reforming the electoral system is a key issue for the country, adding that INEC officials need thorough vetting to prevent partisan appointments.

“As a matter of urgency, we must make sure the INEC chairperson and his or her staff are thoroughly vetted,” Obasanjo said.

“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, but he must also be transparently independent and incorruptible.”

Obasanjo said Nigeria must prevent electoral interference at every level, protecting elections from foreign and local malevolent actors to safeguard democratic integrity.

He added that there should be an implementation of clearly defined financial regulations for political campaigns to ensure transparency and accountability.

“On the local level, we should implement and enforce clearly defined financial regulations for political campaigns and establish effective control and enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance with financial regulations,” the former president advocated.

“And intensify activities to prepare and secure the voting infrastructure, such as safeguarding the technology used to collate, transmit, verify, and disseminate election results.”

Obasanjo alleged that INEC intentionally failed to utilise the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) and election viewing portal (IReV) technologies during the 2023 presidential election.

“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,” he said.

“These technologies were touted by the INEC chairman himself. In the end, these technologies did not fail.

“INEC willfully failed to use or implement them, which resulted in widespread voting irregularities. It was a case of inviting the fox into the henhouse”