INEC is compromised, far from neutral — Okonkwo

By Precious Mark

Chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and legal practitioner, Kenneth Okonkwo, has declared that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) remains compromised and far from being a neutral electoral umpire in Nigeria’s democracy.

Appearing on Channels Television on Friday, Okonkwo expressed grave concern over President Bola Tinubu’s public defense of the electoral body, arguing that the presidency has effectively taken over the role of defending the commission’s credibility.

“Any country that has the president of a country that has morphed to be the chief spokesperson of INEC is in trouble.”

“You can imagine President Tinubu telling the whole world that INEC is neutral. The same Tinubu when they were campaigning in 2015, they said they will form a parallel government if INEC rigs the election. The same people that have been on the side that INEC has been this and that is telling you INEC is neutral,” he stated.

Revisiting unresolved electoral grievances from the 2023 general elections, the ADC leader questioned how the commission could claim impartiality when key technical failures remain unexplained to Nigerians.

“An INEC that guaranteed a technical glitch in 2023 and has not explained it to the satisfaction of anybody today is neutral?”

“Remember, we are pleading with them to be neutral. For now, they are not neutral,” Okonkwo queried.

Okonkwo cited ongoing administrative and legal interference as clear indicators of institutional bias, pointing to the commission’s handling of ADC’s internal leadership status as well as primary election outcomes in Enugu State.

“You knew what happened when the Court of Appeal, without jurisdiction, gave an order of status quo ante bellum*, and INEC went on its own voyage of discovery to interpret it to mean that ADC does not have leadership. Does that in any institution mean neutrality? No,” he argued.

He further accused officials within the commission of actively stalling the upload of legitimately elected candidates to favor political interests.

“INEC under Prof. Joash Amupitan, as I am talking to you now, has not uploaded the candidates from Enugu State that emerged legitimately from the primary election. Because of collusion with some local politicians, I am telling you Joash Amupitan has not uploaded the results from the primary election from Enugu State. I don’t know what he is waiting for.”

“Does that tell you of neutrality? The opposition people are gasping for life. INEC is not neutral yet,” Okonkwo concluded.