Akinyemi Onigbinde, a renowned Professor of Political Philosophy, specializing in public policies, politics, and governance, has criticized the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Yakubu Mahmood, over the outcome of the recently concluded 2023 presidential election in Nigeria. In an interview, Prof. Onigbinde accused Yakubu of "messing up" the election, which saw Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) emerge as the winner.
The 2023 presidential election has been marred by allegations of fraud and unconstitutionality, with the opposition calling for its nullification. Prof. Onigbinde alleged that the election was not free and fair, "without prejudice to the outcome of court judgment," and that "INEC deliberately disabled BVAS for the presidential election."
In response to the criticism, Prof. Onigbinde clarified that being a professor did not mean that all professors are incompetent, and cited an example of a professor who was the returning officer for the Abia governorship election and rejected a bribe from politicians. He further explained that INEC chairmen are not usually chosen from the dominant ethnic group, especially in cases where a presidential candidate is likely to emerge and win.
He cited the example of former President Goodluck Jonathan, who had no prior relationship with Attahiru Jega before appointing him as the INEC Chairman, as he wanted someone with some level of integrity to head the commission. However, he noted that President Buhari appointed people from his Fulani ethnic group to head various positions, including the INEC Chairman, which he believed was an attempt to "hatch an agenda."
When asked to explain what he meant by "Nigeria cannot be redeemed by election," Prof. Onigbinde stated that elections were not enough to fix Nigeria's problems, and that it required more than just elections to solve the country's issues.
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