Nigeria’s registered political parties, under the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), have proposed the creation of an independent body to appoint the chairman, national commissioners and secretary of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The move, they said, would strengthen the commission’s neutrality and enhance the integrity of Nigeria’s elections.
The proposal was presented by IPAC national chairman, Dr Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, at a consultative meeting between political party leaders and the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review on Monday in Abuja.
The call comes amid mounting pressure on the National Assembly to pass key electoral reforms to ensure transparency and credibility, especially in the appointment of the INEC chairman ahead of the 2027 general election.
Represented by his deputy, Dipo Olayoku, Dantalle said the current system, which allows the president to appoint INEC leadership, undermines public confidence and the commission’s independence.
‘To promote INEC’s neutrality, the power to appoint its leadership should be removed from the executive. Instead, an Independent Appointment Committee should be created, comprising representatives of all registered parties, civil society, the National Judicial Council and a joint committee of the National Assembly,’ he said.
He added that such inclusivity would enhance transparency and credibility in appointing INEC’s leadership.
IPAC’s position echoes earlier calls by former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan for reforms to guarantee credible electoral leadership. In a recorded address at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum at Yale University, Obasanjo described the 2023 elections as ‘a travesty,’ urging urgent reform to rebuild public trust.
He said INEC’s leadership must be thoroughly vetted to ensure that only ‘dispassionate, non-partisan actors with impeccable reputations’ are appointed, and recommended short tenures for electoral officials to prevent undue influence and corruption.
Jonathan also urged a new process for appointing the next INEC chairman, proposing an independent screening and nomination mechanism to strengthen the commission’s credibility ahead of the 2027 polls. Jonathan, represented by Ms Ann Iyonu, executive director of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, made the call late August in Abuja at the public presentation of the National Action Plan for Electoral Reforms organised by the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought.
The intervention comes at a sensitive moment: the tenure of the current INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, is due to expire before the end of the year. Yakubu, who oversaw the 2019 and 2023 polls, has served two terms, and the choice of his successor is already generating quiet speculation. With President Bola Ahmed Tinubu expected to seek re-election in 2027, analysts say whoever emerges as the next INEC chair will play a decisive role in shaping the credibility of that contest.
Beyond the appointment process, Jonathan had also revived an earlier proposal for the establishment of an independent office of the registrar of political parties to regulate party operations, promote internal democracy and enforce discipline. He suggested that such an office should have the power to declare the seat of any defector vacant, arguing that the electoral mandate belongs to the people, not individual ambition.
Like IPAC, Obasanjo and Jonathan, the European Union (EU) also recently warned that Nigeria risks repeating the shortcomings of the 2023 general elections if reforms are not concluded before 2027.
Barry Andrews, member of the European Parliament and former chief observer of the EU Election Observation Mission for the 2023 polls, told a press conference in Abuja last week that progress on electoral reform had been ‘modest at best, dangerously close to stagnation.’
‘Unless these reforms are concluded within the next few months, there is a risk of repeating the serious shortcomings of 2023,’ he warned.
The mission listed six critical reforms, including transparent INEC appointments, election result transparency, women’s representation, creation of an Electoral Offences Commission, constitutional reforms to give INEC a stable legal framework, and protection of media freedom.
Aregbesola: Parties with five lawmakers should nominate INEC chair
Echoing the call for reform, national secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola proposed that political parties with at least five lawmakers in the National Assembly should nominate candidates for the INEC chairmanship.
Speaking on Monday at a panel session themed ‘Innovation in Electoral Technology 2015-2025,’ Aregbesola said: ‘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 those who will lead INEC.’
He added that public confidence in Nigeria’s elections would remain low unless reforms began with the method of appointing the electoral commission’s leadership, and urged INEC to publicly demonstrate the technology it plans to use during elections.
Aregbesola cautioned against over-reliance on technology without institutional integrity, noting that ‘technology is as good as the person behind it.’
He also questioned the reliability of institutions charged with upholding law and order, asking, ‘is it reliable?’
‘These are things we have to look at. Beyond general statements, we must be specific. If institutions fail, elections will continue to be manipulated,’ he said.
Youth group backs bill to strip president of appointment powers
The National Muslim Youth Association (NMYA) has urged the National Assembly to give serious consideration to a draft bill sponsored by Senator Ikechukwu Obiorah, which seeks to amend the constitution and strip the president and state governors of the power to appoint chairpersons of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs).
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, NMYA President, Engr. Abdulraham Aliyu, said Nigeria’s electoral integrity hinges on removing political influence from the appointment process.
‘We agree with Senator Obiorah that honest elections are impossible in Nigeria if the president and the governors continue to wield the power of appointing the electoral bodies,’ Aliyu stated.
The group argued that technological innovations such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal, while useful, cannot guarantee credible elections without an impartial electoral body. It said both systems remain vulnerable to manipulation.
The association maintained that the proposed amendment is necessary to establish a truly independent and neutral INEC capable of conducting free and fair elections.
Moves for new INEC chair
Efforts are on at the moment for the appointment of a new INEC chairman to replace Professor Mahmood Yakubu, whose tenure expires in about a month.
It would be recalled that the Weekend Trust had reported that Justice Abdullahi Mohammed Liman was being considered for the position.
However, in the past few days some newspapers have reported that Professor Joash Amupitan is also being considered for the position. Amupitan is a Professor of Law at the University of Jos, and an indigene of Kogi State.
Lawal: Build institutions, not individuals
Similarly, Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, speaking at the session as Aregbesola, described the ongoing conversation on electoral reform as ‘timely and necessary,’ noting that the country must embrace technology to safeguard democracy.
‘INEC came up with a very interesting process, moving away from the archaic way of doing things into embracing technology, which is the use of BVAS,’ he said. ‘It’s a very good innovation, and if we fine-tune it to reflect reality, it will be the way forward.’
Lawal identified gaps between BVAS and the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) and called for full digital integration.
‘Going forward, there should be proper integration so that as aggregation is ongoing, whatever is dropping on BVAS should also reflect on IReV in real time,’ he said.
He emphasised the need for strong infrastructure to support technology-driven elections, acknowledging that ‘infrastructure is key because we are talking about technology and network. INEC must ensure connectivity across polling centres. That is the only way we can have a seamless process.’
The Zamfara governor further urged Nigeria to focus on building institutions rather than individuals. ‘Let us try to build institutions rather than building individuals, because individuals come and go, but institutions come to stay,’ he said. ‘So long as there’s no rule of law, no matter what we do here, it is absolutely nothing.’
He warned that security challenges also pose threats to electoral integrity. ‘Security is key to whatever we do because politicians rely on security and use it to intimidate people for their selfish interests. So long as that is not addressed, it is a fundamental error, and nothing can be done,’ he said.
Soludo: Politicians must stop manipulating elections
On his part, Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State, who joined the panel session virtually, said Nigeria’s electoral process had made significant progress under the current INEC leadership but needed further strengthening.
‘I believe in technology, and I believe that INEC has done greatly well. It’s still a work in progress,’ he said, adding that ‘as we saw from the perceptions and those numbers about what people think, INEC doesn’t, in my view, receive enough credit for what it has done.’
Soludo recalled that Anambra State was the first to experiment with technological innovations such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and IReV under the current INEC leadership.
‘Anambra happened to be the first state where INEC, under the leadership of Professor Mahmood Yakubu, experimented on a statewide basis with BVAS, IReV. And it’s also going to be the last one under his tenure,’ he noted.
He added that ‘if the experience in Anambra since 2019 is anything to go by, we’ll be able to score INEC not less than 90 percent. It was clear, transparent, open, and credible.’
While acknowledging imperfections, Soludo said politicians must also take responsibility for electoral malpractices. ‘Politicians need to do a lot more. This Nigerian factor, where we believe that nothing can happen without some ‘wayo’, must stop,’ he said. ‘Some politicians are sleeping in INEC offices because they don’t believe votes can be counted and announced without manipulation,’ he added.
He urged the electoral body to enforce accountability among its officials, noting that ‘INEC officials who blatantly go ahead to manipulate results and say ‘go to court’ must be prosecuted and jailed,’ adding that ‘we must codify these things as law so that those officials who violate them are punished.’
IPAC calls for scrap of SIECs
As part of its electoral reforms, the IPAC also urged lawmakers to scrap State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) and transfer responsibility for local government elections in all 774 councils to INEC.
Dantalle argued that SIECs have become tools of state governors to entrench one-party dominance. ‘Politics is local, and citizens should participate in grassroots democracy that guarantees credible council polls. Vesting local elections in INEC will restore credibility and deepen local government autonomy,’ he said.
He further proposed restoring public funding for political parties to promote inclusiveness and a level playing field, provided mechanisms for accountability are established.
IPAC also backed the creation of an Electoral Offences Commission to prosecute electoral crimes such as vote-buying and ballot snatching. Dantalle added that legislative seats vacated due to death or defection should be filled by the original party through replacement rather than fresh elections, which he described as ‘costly and avoidable.’
Commending the National Assembly for its consultative approach, Dantalle said: ‘A revised Constitution and Electoral Act enacted before 2027 will correct recurring flaws and ensure fair representation for all Nigerians.’
CISLAC backs independent INEC appointment, opposes scrapping of SIECs
Executive director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, supported the call for an independent INEC appointment process but opposed scrapping state electoral bodies.
He said allowing the president to appoint INEC officials undermines trust and violates constitutional principles. ‘CISLAC and the Transition Monitoring Group have long advocated for an independent appointment process,’ he said, stressing that transparency and impartiality are crucial for credible polls.
He lamented that since 1999, successive presidents have ignored the constitutional provision barring partisan individuals from serving in the electoral body.
Rafsanjani stressed that only a transparent, impartial appointment process could guarantee credible elections. ‘If the process is not transparent or free from political influence, that’s a big challenge,’ he stated.
However, he disagreed with IPAC’s call to scrap state electoral bodies, warning that it could weaken Nigeria’s federal structure.
‘Instead of abolishing SIECs, we should reform and strengthen them to promote accountability and transparency at the subnational level.
‘We are supposed to be running a federal system of government. If we are to run a true federalism, we must build and consolidate institutions at the state and local government levels that can function independently,’ Rafsanjani said’, he said.
According to him, the debate mirrors the controversy over state police. ‘We’re supposed to run a federal system. Lack of trust in state institutions shouldn’t justify centralising power at the federal level,’ Rafsanjani added.
Public affairs analyst Dr Godwin Odeh agreed that the integrity of appointees, not the appointment method alone, remains the key issue.
‘If people with integrity, courage and patriotism are appointed, they will act in the nation’s best interest,’ he said.
Kalu: It’s our moment to make democracy work better
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Constitution Review Committee chairman, Benjamin Kalu, urged Nigerians to seize the opportunity to strengthen democracy through ongoing constitutional amendments.
He called for consensus and collective action across party lines to address governance challenges. ‘Before us are critical amendment bills that will define the trajectory of our democracy for the next generation,’ Kalu said, citing bills to guarantee women’s representation, grant local government financial autonomy, and streamline the electoral process.
He emphasised that goodwill alone cannot sustain democracy. ‘We need strong institutions and clear rules. This is our moment to get it right,’ he added, urging stakeholders to study the bills and make meaningful inputs, particularly on women’s representation.
‘Too many Nigerians, especially women, feel left behind. Our democracy cannot be complete when half of the population is excluded from decisions that shape our future,’ he said.
Kalu explained that one of the amendment bills before the committee seeks to guarantee women’s representation in legislative houses at both federal and state levels.
‘This is not a token gesture but a practical effort to ensure equity and inclusiveness,’ he added, stressing that women’s perspectives enrich governance and make democracy more responsive.
He urged political parties to support the proposal, noting that genuine democratic progress depends on women’s active participation at all levels.
Kalu described the ongoing constitutional review as the most inclusive in Nigeria’s history, involving broad consultations with civil society, traditional rulers, professional groups, and stakeholders across all zones.
Akpabio: Time to renew the promise of democracy
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, represented by Senate Whip Mohammed Tahir Monguno, declared the session open, urging a ‘collective renewal of Nigeria’s democratic promise.’
He said credible elections, justice delivery and local government autonomy are vital to restoring public confidence. ‘True federalism begins at the grassroots. If government doesn’t work in the village, it has failed in the capital,’ he said, and stressed women’s inclusion as both a moral and economic necessity.
Akpabio also endorsed state policing as a pragmatic response to insecurity, describing it as ‘realism, not rebellion.’
In his contribution, Accord Party chairman Maxwell Mbudem called for judicial decentralisation through state appeal courts to hasten justice delivery and decongest federal courts.
He said, ‘This reform will strengthen access to justice and bring it closer to the people.’