Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has advocated for the appointment of credible leaders with short tenures at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to combat corruption and restore trust in Nigeria’s electoral system.

Speaking at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, Obasanjo described the 2023 general elections as a “travesty.” In his keynote address, titled “Leadership Failure and State Capture in Nigeria,” he emphasized the urgent need for comprehensive electoral reforms.

“As a matter of urgency, we must ensure the INEC chairperson and staff are thoroughly vetted,” Obasanjo stated. “This process should produce impartial, non-partisan actors with impeccable reputations. The INEC chairperson must not only be above board but also transparently independent and incorruptible.”

He proposed short tenures for INEC leadership at federal, state, and local levels, arguing this would reduce political interference and corruption while fostering public trust.  Obasanjo also called for securing Nigeria’s elections against local and foreign interference, implementing stricter financial regulations for political campaigns, and protecting election technologies such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

He accused INEC of deliberately avoiding the use of these technologies during the 2023 presidential election, which he claimed resulted in significant irregularities.  “The BVAS and IReV were lauded for their potential to enhance election transparency and accuracy. However, INEC willfully failed to deploy them, inviting the fox into the henhouse,” Obasanjo remarked.

He urged the government to enforce financial transparency in political campaigns and strengthen voting infrastructure to ensure credible elections.  Obasanjo’s remarks underscore the critical need for reforms to uphold democratic integrity in Nigeria and rebuild public confidence in its electoral processes.