News Investigators/ Osita Chidoka, Chancellor of Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, has called for a reform in appointing Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) to enhance electoral integrity.
Mr Chidoka made the call in Abuja on Monday, at the Athena Centre’s Review of INEC’s Innovation in Electoral Technology 2015-2025: Gains, Gaps and the Road Ahead.
The chancellor, at the event which featured the inaugurtion of the Athena Electoral Observatory, suggested that appointment of RECs should be from Independent National Electoral Commissions (INEC) rather than being political appointees.
The former Minister of Aviation faulted the current system of appointing RECs, noting that they were often connected to people in power or had political affiliations themselves.
Mr Chidoka cited the example of the Adamawa REC who declared a winner without announced results.
“I want to say that no INEC staff will do what the REC in Adamawa did. It was egregious to take the results that have not been announced and go on air and declare somebody the winner.
“I firmly support the idea that resident electoral commissioners should be staff of INEC. They should be people that have a stake in the game and not politicians, as it is done now.
“The INEC officials were astounded that a resident electoral officer whose job is not to declare the results went ahead and declared the results,” he said.
According to the former Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, if an INEC staff member is dismissed, just like the resident electoral officers; they would lose all their pension and gratuity.
“So, they will like to do the thing to protect their job and name,” he said.
He advocated radical transparency in the electoral process, suggesting that INEC should publish the proceedings of its meetings and decisions, including who supported or opposed certain views.
Chidoka commended INEC’s technological advancements, stating “they’re on track and provide necessary information.”
He supported the idea of political parties having a seat in INEC’s National Commission to ensure transparency and accountability in decision-making.
“I think that the way forward for this is for the political parties to have a seat in INEC, in the National Commission.
“If you don’t throw sunlight into the activities of an organisation that has implications for everybody, then individuals sitting inside INEC will not have the incentive to oppose or support what is good or what they don’t agree with.
“That kind of radical transparency is critical for us to restore confidence in the electoral process.
“Let’s know who in INEC Commission accepted and supported this view, and who said no,” he said.
He endorsed INEC’s proposal to use electronically generated ID cards, such as driver’s licenses or passports, to increase access to voting and eliminate disenfranchisement.
“If you have your driver’s license, if you have your passport, if you have your name, and your fingerprint is working, the BVAS will recognise you.
The former Minister of Aviation, however, highlighted issues with the voter’s register, noting that many deceased individuals remained registered due to the lack of a death register in Nigeria.
He proposed that voters who did not participate in two consecutive election cycles should be removed from the register to ensure accuracy.
He added that while INEC’s technologies were good, they needed to be accompanied by strong governance infrastructure to ensure the integrity of the electoral process.
“INEC has done very well with the technology, because INEC has shown that they have the capacity to deploy those technologies.
“INEC should present that transparency that allows people to see what is happening at the polling unit, at the coalition center.
“If there is that radical transparency, it removes the power from individuals to show that discretion.
“These technologies are fantastic. We should go ahead with it. But we should put a governance infrastructure,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the report inauguration will also help to address some of the identified challenges ahead of forth coming elections.
These include Ekiti, Osun and FCT Area council elections coming up in 2026 as well as 2027 general elections and beyond.
NAN