By Jide Ajani, Basic Editor
Final Monday on the convocation of the Nigerian Institute of Legislative and Democratic Research, NILDS, former Nationwide Chairman of Nigeria’s Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee, INEC, Professor Attahiru Muhammadu Jega, OFR, spoke on the subject, ELECTORAL INTEGRITY AS PANACEA FOR DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA, the place he laid out the imperatives important for the integrity of elections to be upheld. Approaching the heels of the swearing-in of Professor Joash Amupitan as the brand new Nationwide Chairman of INEC, the strategies are all too acquainted, coming from an skilled hand. In an period the place the brand new INEC helmsman must deal with some Nationwide Commissioners and Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, who’re alleged to be card-carrying members of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Amupitan has his work minimize out for him. Whereas the brand new Chairman has been making the helpful noises steeped in guarantees of higher election outcomes, his predecessor’s guarantees ended up as a idiot’s errand. To make sure that Amupitan succeeds, and because the governorship election in Anambra is scheduled to carry this week, all arms should be on deck to safe Nigeria’s democracy. This report is a primary step in that course.
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Professor Attahiru Jega’s speech on the convocation of the Nigerian Institute of Legislative and Democratic Research, NILDS, on the subject, ELECTORAL INTEGRITY AS PANACEA FOR DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA will not be merely an educational treatise; it’s a foundational manifesto and a direct cost to the brand new Nationwide Chairman of Nigeria’s Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee, INEC, Professor Joash Amupitan. His counsel will be damaged down into a number of important pillars for reaching electoral credibility in Nigeria. The primary take a look at is the governorship election scheduled to be held in Anambra State on Saturday, November 8, 2025.
The Philosophical Basis: Integrity as a Non-Negotiable Panacea
Jega’s central thesis is that electoral integrity is the “panacea for democratic improvement.” He defines this not because the mere absence of fraud, however as a optimistic, holistic situation the place elections are “skilled, neutral, and clear in its preparation and administration all through the electoral cycle.” For Amupitan, this implies his whole tenure should be judged by this single metric: did the elections below his watch have integrity? This shifts the main target from simply delivering an election on schedule to delivering an election that’s broadly accepted as respectable.
The Institutional Mandate: Fortifying INEC’s Independence and Professionalism
Jega explicitly requires the “strengthening of unbiased and neutral election administration our bodies.” His counsel to Amupitan is to fiercely defend INEC’s autonomy from political interference. This includes: Operational Independence: Making certain that INEC’s choices on logistics, personnel, and outcomes are remaining and never topic to political negotiation. Within the space of professionalism, he counsels that the brand new INEC Chairman should fight the “unethical, unprofessional and amoral disposition of election officers” by way of rigorous coaching, higher welfare, and a strict code of conduct. Relating to transparency, Jega advocates for “improved transparency and accountability of the INEC by way of efficient communication.” Amupitan should make INEC’s processes so open that they turn into their very own defence towards misinformation.
Technological Crucial: Leveraging and Securing Know-how
Professor Jega highlights the twin nature of expertise on this occasion. Whereas endorsing its “deployment and use,” he points a stark warning concerning the “dangers of cyber assaults,” urging the “deployment of efficient protecting cyber safety.” For Amupitan, the counsel is evident: expertise is a vital instrument for credibility, however it is usually a brand new vulnerability. He should not solely preserve methods just like the BVAS and IReV but additionally make investments closely in securing them from each inside compromise and exterior assaults.
The Authorized and Judicial Ecosystem: A Name for Synergy and Integrity
Jega identifies a important weak hyperlink, the “elevated corrupt judicial involvement within the dedication of electoral issues.” His counsel extends past INEC’s partitions to the broader justice system. He requires: (a) An Efficient Electoral Justice System: This offers authorized redress and ensures losers settle for outcomes with out violence. (b) Judicial Integrity: He pointedly advises that “our courts and justices… must additionally conduct their duties with integrity.” Amupitan can not management the judiciary, however he can guarantee INEC’s processes are so strong that they depart little room for judicial manipulation, thereby placing the judiciary itself to the take a look at.
Stakeholder Method: Constructing an “Alliance for Elections with Integrity”
Jega understands that INEC can not act alone. He counsels the necessity to “forge and strengthen partnerships and collaborations with stakeholders.” This contains: Political Events and Politicians: Encouraging them to respect the principles and eschew the “do-or-die” mentality. Safety Businesses: Making certain they’re skilled and neutral. Civil Society and the Media: Leveraging their capability for monitoring and public oversight. Residents: “Engendering public belief” to fight “voter apathy” and encourage participation.
Steady Enchancment Mannequin: Reform as a Fixed Course of
Jega makes it clear that the work is rarely accomplished (“it’s nonetheless work in progress”). His suggestions for “periodic assessment” of the authorized framework and “steady authorized and administrative reforms” are a direct cost to Amupitan to be a proactive reformer, not a passive administrator. He should always search to enhance processes, legal guidelines, and applied sciences.
Humongous Challenges Forward
Sadly for the brand new INEC Chairman, establishments just like the Nationwide Meeting, safety businesses and even the political events represent a central core of mountains he should be aware of if he’s to have a transparent view of what he must do. The irony of Nigeria’s electoral system is that the extra fashionable the electoral legal guidelines turn into the extra contentious, acrimonious and disputative electoral outcomes turn into.
Jega additionally outlined faces a constellation of daunting challenges forward for Professor Amupitan, which embrace however aren’t restricted to the next:
The Political Class and the “Do-or-Die” Mentality
That is Jega’s main impediment. Amupitan will face politicians who’re masters of subverting the method by way of “deployment of money,” “paid thugs,” and the “use of incumbency energy.” Their resistance to a very neutral INEC might be his biggest exterior problem. He should possess the political fortitude to face up to immense stress from the very authorities that funds his company.
The Judiciary’s Credibility Disaster
As Professor Jega famous, the judiciary has turn into a serious theatre for electoral battle. Amupitan must handle a state of affairs the place INEC’s credible work may very well be overturned by courts whose judgments are considered with widespread public suspicion. This erodes the very legitimacy that INEC strives to construct.
The Logistical Leviathan
Nigeria’s measurement,terrain, and infrastructure deficits make elections a logistical nightmare. The “challenges of logistics referring to… outcome transmission” that Jega talked about almost derailed the 2023 elections. Amupitan should resolve the perennial problems with late graduation, ad-hoc employees administration, and safe transportation of supplies and personnel. Worse, the interior sabotage that cripples the supply of election supplies should be tackled.
Scourge of Election Finance and Vote-Shopping for
The”violation of marketing campaign finance legal guidelines” and the “deployment of money… to purchase off voters” have turn into normalized. This instantly assaults the idea of a free and honest vote. Amupitan should discover methods, in collaboration with anti-corruption businesses, to curb this follow, although it’s a societal in poor health far past INEC’s direct management. Even at that, a state of affairs the place safety brokers give attention to opposition events whereas the ruling celebration has a free cross in shopping for votes creates detrimental optics.
Disaster of Citizen Belief and Voter Apathy
Jega recognized “voter apathy” as a key impediment, born from a “lack of confidence.” After the controversies of 2023, a good portion of the citizens is disillusioned. That was a direct consequence of how the previous INEC boss delivered on his guarantees. Amupitan’s most profound problem is to win again the belief of the Nigerian folks by way of demonstrable impartiality and competence, convincing them that their votes will certainly depend. Anambra’s governorship election might be a take a look at case.
Securing the Digital Frontier
The 2023 election was Nigeria’s most technologically superior, nevertheless it additionally uncovered new vulnerabilities. Amupitan should oversee a technological system that’s not solely environment friendly but additionally impregnable to cyber-attacks and inside sabotage, all whereas sustaining public confidence in that very expertise.
In conclusion, Professor Jega has handed Professor Amupitan a complete blueprint and a solemn cost. He makes it clear that the brand new INEC Chairman’s position is that of a guardian of democracy itself.
His success is not going to be measured by the smoothness of the electoral course of alone, however by whether or not the outcomes are seen as respectable expressions of the folks’s will. Amupitan should be a fortress towards political stress, a reformer of institutional processes, a builder of public belief, and a guarantor of technological safety. The challenges are Herculean, however Jega has supplied the important map. The query now could be whether or not Professor Amupitan has the braveness, talent, and unwavering integrity to navigate the treacherous terrain forward. The way forward for Nigeria’s democracy might effectively rely upon it.
The publish As Anambra Guber Beckons: Challenges earlier than INEC’s Amupitan, by Prof Jega appeared first on Vanguard Information.
