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

Obasanjo made the comments during the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum held at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

In his keynote address at the forum, titled ‘Leadership failure and state capture in Nigeria,’ Obasanjo described the 2023 general elections as a “travesty.”

The former president emphasized that reforming the electoral system is a critical issue for the country, stressing the need for thorough vetting of INEC officials to avoid partisan appointments.

“As a matter of urgency, we must make sure the INEC chairperson and his or her staff are thoroughly vetted,” Obasanjo said.

“The vetting exercise should yield dispassionate, non-partisan actors with impeccable reputations.”

“Nigeria must ensure the appointment of new credible INEC leadership at the federal, state, local government, and municipal—city, town, and village levels—with short tenures—to prevent undesirable political influence and corruption and re-establish trust in the electoral systems by its citizens.”

“The INEC chairperson must not only be absolutely above board, but he must also be transparently independent and incorruptible.”

Obasanjo further stated that Nigeria must prevent electoral interference at every level, protecting elections from both foreign and local malevolent actors to safeguard democratic integrity.

He also advocated for the implementation of clearly defined financial regulations for political campaigns to ensure transparency and accountability.

“On the local level, we should implement and enforce clearly defined financial regulations for political campaigns and establish effective control and enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance with financial regulations,” the former president said.

“And intensify activities to prepare and secure the voting infrastructure, such as safeguarding the technology used to collate, transmit, verify, and disseminate election results.”

Obasanjo alleged that INEC deliberately failed to use the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) and election viewing portal (IReV) technologies during the 2023 presidential election.

“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,” he said.

“These technologies were touted by the INEC chairman himself. In the end, these technologies did not fail.”

“INEC willfully failed to use or implement them, which resulted in widespread voting irregularities. It was a case of inviting the fox into the henhouse.”

Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Ondo state governor-elect, expressed his wish that Rotimi Akeredolu, his late principal, could have been alive to witness his victory.

Aiyedatiwa, the current governor of Ondo, triumphed across all 18 LGAs, securing 366,781 votes to defeat his closest rival, Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 117,845 votes.

Aiyedatiwa assumed leadership of the state following Akeredolu’s death from protracted prostate cancer in 2023.

In an interview with Channels Television after his victory, Aiyedatiwa reflected on Akeredolu’s support for his political journey.

“How I wish he was present in that banquet hall when I was declared in the company of other brother governors. That would have been really good, but God knows better,” he said.

“It is so sad and painful that he didn’t live to see the manifestation of what he himself spoke about. I do refer to him sometimes as the man who saw tomorrow.”

“He knew that I was going to succeed him as governor. He knew because he wanted me to and was ready to give me the full backing.”

Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on information and strategy, has accused former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of promoting “economic fantasies” and urged him to rid himself of “petty politics.”

Recent weeks have seen exchanges between the presidency and Abubakar following his proposed solutions to the country’s economic difficulties.

Last week, the former vice-president stated that he could not be envious of Tinubu, as the president causes pain for Nigerians.

In a statement on Sunday, Onanuga emphasized that Nigerians rejected both Abubakar and his ideas during the 2023 presidential election.

“Atiku’s critiques of Tinubu’s presidency are mere harebrained propositions devoid of realistic alternatives,” the presidential aide said.

“He must acknowledge the decades of mismanagement of the economy inherited by the current administration, including the exorbitant subsidy expenditures that far exceeded government earnings from crude oil.”

“As of mid-2023, the landing cost of fuel was between N500 and N600, while it was sold nationwide at an average of N200. The 2023 budget allocated N3.36 trillion for fuel subsidies until June 2023, against a projected N2.23 trillion in oil revenue for the year.”

“The Nigerian state was on life support.”

“We expect Atiku to commend what the Tinubu administration has achieved concerning revenue generation for the Federation.”

“Without factoring in oil sales, revenue proceeds generated by the Federal Inland Revenue Service almost doubled in the first half of 2024, compared with the level Tinubu met in 2023. The states and councils are more prosperous because of it, as many states have increased the minimum wage for their workers to between N70,000 and N85,000.”

“Atiku’s proposal to privatize the four government-owned refineries, which collectively can only meet a fraction of the nation’s daily fuel consumption when activated, lacks originality.”

Onanuga concluded by stating that Abubakar’s economic proposals do not offer a feasible alternative to Tinubu’s “decisive reforms” and urged the former vice-president to restore his reputation as a statesman.