Obasanjo Calls For Shorter Tenures For INEC Chair To Curb Corruption And Rebuild Trust.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has urged for the appointment of new and credible leaders to head the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), advocating for short tenures to prevent corruption and rebuild public trust in Nigeria’s electoral process.
Speaking at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum at Yale University in Connecticut, USA, Obasanjo delivered a powerful keynote address titled “Leadership Failure and State Capture in Nigeria,” where he described the 2023 general elections as a “travesty.” The former president emphasised the urgent need for comprehensive reforms in the electoral system to ensure fairness and transparency.
Obasanjo proposed the appointment of impartial, non-partisan leaders for INEC, highlighting the importance of rigorous vetting to eliminate any partisan influences. “As a matter of urgency, we must ensure the INEC chairperson and staff undergo thorough vetting,” he said. “The process must yield impartial, non-partisan individuals with impeccable reputations.”
He further suggested that the leadership at all levels—federal, state, and local—should be appointed for limited tenures, a move designed to reduce political interference and curb corruption. Obasanjo stressed that the INEC chairperson should be “transparently independent and incorruptible,” reinforcing the need for a system that could safeguard Nigeria’s democratic integrity.
Obasanjo also called for measures to protect election infrastructure, particularly the technologies used for collation, transmission, and verification of results. He strongly criticised INEC for its failure to utilise the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) and the election viewing portal (IReV) during the 2023 elections, calling it a significant lapse that compromised the integrity of the process.
“These technologies were praised for their potential to enhance transparency, prevent rigging, and build public trust,” Obasanjo remarked. “However, INEC willfully neglected their use, leading to widespread irregularities. It was akin to inviting the fox into the henhouse.”
The former president’s call for urgent electoral reform comes at a time when the need for transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s elections has never been more pressing. His remarks underline the critical importance of reforming the electoral system to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy and ensure the trust of the electorate.
