Dele Momodu, publisher of Ovation magazine, has said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has lost the confidence of many Nigerians, describing the electoral body as “impotent” and calling on it to restore public trust in the country’s electoral process.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Momodu said INEC had a lot of work to do before Nigerians could regard it as a serious and impartial umpire.
He said many Nigerians now viewed the commission as ineffective because it had repeatedly disappointed them despite the enormous resources committed to conducting elections.
Momodu likened the public perception of INEC to a Yoruba proverb about a woman who, after losing a child to a witch, suspects every other woman of being a witch, arguing that the commission had consistently dashed the hopes of Nigerians.
He further stated that despite the huge resources allocated to INEC, the commission had continued to fail in conducting credible elections.
Citing the forthcoming Osun State governorship election as an example, Momodu said the poll already resembled a war despite being an election in just one of Nigeria’s 36 states.
Political tension has continued to rise ahead of the August 15 governorship election in Osun State, with supporters of Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party and those of the All Progressives Congress (APC) exchanging accusations and verbal attacks.
Momodu also alleged that soldiers and police officers had been deployed to the state, while some individuals had brought in thugs.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s electoral history, he recalled that the June 12, 1993 presidential election was conducted peacefully, lamenting that the country’s electoral process had deteriorated instead of improving.
He argued that electoral umpires often reflected the disposition of those who appointed them, adding that if those in authority genuinely believed in free and fair elections, they would ensure the process was conducted transparently rather than manipulating it to achieve predetermined outcomes.