Aregbesola Proposes Party-Nominated INEC Leadership To Restore Electoral Trust
The National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has recommended that political parties with at least five lawmakers in the national assembly should nominate individuals to lead the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Aregbesola who spoke on Monday during a panel session in Abuja themed “Innovation in Electoral Technology 2015–2025”, said Nigeria’s electoral system cannot command public confidence unless reforms begin from the appointment of the INEC chairman.
“The issues involved in Nigerian elections are not as simple as we are putting them. From the appointment of the chief electoral officer, that’s the chairman of INEC, and all the commissioners to all the issues involved, we know. We pretend as if we don’t know, we know they don’t even inspire confidence. So we must start from there. We must start from how we appoint people who should manage this process in the first instance.
“And I would say outright, we must review that to inspire confidence. And now, what is my suggestion? It’s so simple. We must begin by reviewing how leaders of this process are appointed to restore trust.”
The former minister said that “when a principal beneficiary of manipulation selects the electoral leadership, the process is inherently compromised. Let parties with at least five members in the national assembly nominate people who will be at the helm of affairs in INEC on an equal basis. It’s as simple as that. That solves all the issues. If the parties now depict themselves to allow one of them to run away with it, fine.
On voter registration, Aregbesola urged INEC to integrate its database with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to eliminate multiple entries, saying that “Linking voter registration with NIMC will prevent bloated registers. We cannot have 93 million registered voters with only 23 million voting”.
Acknowledging potential constitutional hurdles, Aregbesola said political will is the main obstacle to reform.
