The Policy and Legal Advocacy Center (PLAC) has urged President Bola Tinubu to overhaul the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the 2027 general elections.
The call comes after a recent study revealed that citizens have lost confidence in INEC, as presently constituted.
A survey conducted by PLAC showed that citizens’ confidence in the electoral body has badly deteriorated, the Executive Director of PLAC, Mr. Clement Nwankwo, said while speaking to journalists on Monday.
He said: “A survey we conducted showed that citizens’ confidence in the electoral body has badly deteriorated.
“The fact is that citizens have lost trust in the INEC as presently constituted.
“If we are going into election in 2027, President Tinubu would need to study reports of the 2023 elections, including the flawed system that brought him to power.
“It is time for the country to sit down and prepare a blueprint for the conduct of future elections.
“We believe that INEC should be reconstituted in time for the next election. That needs to be done immediately because we do not think that the current leadership of INEC is prepared for the next election as it is already tainted.
“It is good to see that Nigeria’s election management body was in Ghana to observe the just concluded election in the country. It is our hope that they learnt something from that election.
“When you look at what happened in this country in 2015, you will see that it was similar to what also happened in Ghana.
“However, since that 2015 incident where the incumbent president conceded defeat to the opposition candidate, the election management body has continued to have a problem of deficit of credibility of individuals running it.
“The way the individuals manage the system and the trust issue, are the problems, not the absence of the necessary laws.
“We have sufficient laws, the problem is with individuals tinkering it to achieve selfish ends. The current INEC should step down immediately.
“We are also worried that the process of appointment of INEC officials have not changed.
“All the suggestions by the Justice Uwais Committee need to be looked at. It is important that we go back to the suggestions and see how it can be implemented,” PLAC’s boss, Nwankwo, stated.
It can be recalled that in November, Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo called for the complete overhaul of INEC, which he said must include the removal of its chairman, Mahmood Yakubu and officials of the commission at all levels as part of a reform of the electoral process in Nigeria.
“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 had said.