Human rights activist and lawyer Chidi Odinkalu has expressed doubts about the ability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), under its chairman Joash Amupitan, to conduct credible elections in 2027.
Odinkalu made the remarks on Monday while appearing on Politics Today, where he reviewed the conduct of the recently held area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory.
“INEC failed,” Odinkalu said while assessing the polls. “Amupitan’s INEC failed woefully. On this evidence, nobody can trust Joash Amupitan to organise credible elections in 2027.”
According to him, the shortcomings recorded during the FCT council elections were not primarily legal issues but administrative failures.
“There’s nothing else to it; it is not about the law. It is about the failure of will, the failure of electoral administration,” he added.
The former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission urged electoral officials to either prepare adequately for their responsibilities or step aside for others who are capable of doing the job.
Responding to suggestions that it may be too early to judge Amupitan, who assumed office late last year, Odinkalu said the INEC chairman had prior experience, having overseen a governorship election in Anambra State.
He also criticised INEC’s handling of election logistics in the nation’s capital, describing it as poorly coordinated. Odinkalu faulted the commission for reassigning voters to new polling units without proper notification on election day, a situation he said disenfranchised many eligible voters.
The lawyer challenged INEC to acknowledge its mistakes and apologise to Nigerians.
“Amupitan can tell Nigerians that ‘I take personal responsibility, this is a chastening experience. I am learning, some of these things I saw cannot happen on my watch’,” he said.
“But to simply pretend as if these things did not happen and say this is the standard to which elections are organised will be irresponsible.”
Odinkalu stressed that Nigerians are not demanding perfection from the electoral umpire but expect clear evidence of commitment to improvement.
“A chairperson of INEC who is committed to credible elections would admit that there are failures that should never have happened on the watch of a credible electoral administrator and will say, ‘We will do something about it,’” he said, adding that citizens without partisan interests should be involved in fixing the identified lapses.
