Ex-Nigerian Minister Describes INEC As Monumental Disgrace

A former Nigerian Minister of Aviation and chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Osita Chidoka has slammed the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, over its conduct of the last presidential election, describing the commission as a monumental disgrace.

Chidoka faulted INEC’s inability to electronically transmit election results in real-time.

He stated this while featuring on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.

“INEC is a monumental disgrace. INEC is an organization I am ashamed to be associated with as a Nigerian.

“I came on this programme and called for third-party verification of the INEC system so that we are sure that on Election Day what is going to happen that day would not lead to a glitch. On Election Day, INEC said there was a glitch.

“Despite not testing the system, it is a shame that INEC went to court to argue that not complying with its regulation does not make it a ground to cancel an election,” Chidoka said.

He added that INEC’s struggle with such an issue paints the nation badly in the comity of nations, wondering why it could not emulate countries like India and Indonesia, which according to him, have large populations but conduct better elections.

PDP and Labour Party, LP, had challenged the declaration of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the winner of the February 25 presidential election.

They asked the court to nullify Tinubu’s victory on the basis that INEC did not carry out a real-time transmission of results to the election portal.

However, the court has since ruled that INEC is at liberty to transmit results in whichever way it wants.