Founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank and Anap Foundation, Atedo Peterside, has strongly criticised the performance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under former chairman Mahmood Yakubu, describing it as a national disgrace.
Peterside made the remark during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, while reacting to the appointment of Professor Joash Amupitan as the new INEC chairman by President Bola Tinubu.
Amupitan officially assumed office on October 23 after Senate confirmation, succeeding Yakubu, whose nearly 10-year tenure ended earlier this month. Yakubu had served as Nigeria’s chief electoral officer since 2015, overseeing two general elections.
When asked about his expectations for the new electoral leadership, Peterside did not mince words.
I will never say never, but the INEC that was led by Mahmood Yakubu was a national disgrace, he said.
He accused the commission of manipulating election data and mishandling results uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, saying clear evidence of irregularities could still be found online.
If you have time, I will take you there myself and show you result sheets they uploaded mutilated, figures changed, and sometimes they even forgot to change the words, he added.
The respected banker also blamed the judiciary for failing to uphold transparency and fairness in election petitions, accusing the courts of either siding with INEC or avoiding decisions that expose electoral misconduct.
He endorsed calls by Senator Seriake Dickson for an amendment to the Electoral Act, suggesting that the burden of proof in election disputes should shift from candidates to INEC.
You can’t allow a situation where INEC can bring out rubbish results mutilated and inconsistent and then argue that it’s the victim’s job to prove it wrong when even a blind man can see it, Peterside said.
Peterside warned that Nigeria’s democracy could be at risk if public confidence in both INEC and the judiciary continues to decline.
Many Nigerians have already lost faith in INEC and the judiciary, he cautioned. If we don’t fix this, people may stop believing that elections can bring change and may take matters into their own hands.
