The Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) inability to electronically transmit the results of the presidential and National Assembly elections, according to Laolu Akande, former vice president Yemi Osinbajo’s assistant, has damaged Nigerians’ confidence in the organisation.
In spite of INEC’s numerous assurances prior to the election in February 2023 that it would send polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), this did not occur during the presidential and National Assembly elections.
The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT), in spite of complaints from Nigerians, decided that the electoral umpire is free to choose how to communicate election results.
Following the development, Akande claimed that Nigerians’ trust in INEC had decreased as a result of the commission’s inability to electronically submit results.
He asserted that the assurances of INEC to electronically transmit the result increased the public’s faith in the election umpire.
“But guess what? When it was time for INEC to fulfill its guidelines – for certain reasons we could talk about that- INEC failed to do what it said it would do. Now it is right that if you look at the law, and I think the judges also affirmed, INEC has not really broken the law. But INEC has broken the trust of the Nigerian people,” he added.
He claimed that the incident not only compromised INEC’s credibility but also called into question the election’s victor’s legitimacy.
More Stories
Reason Obi canvases vote for UK Labour Party against Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
EFCC’s witness says N35bn found in Mompha’s accounts, narrates involvement of FBI in investigation
Ex-Naval Chief Alison Madueke seeks court declaration barring Diezani from using his first and last names