Former Minister of Education, Obi Ezekwesili, has declared that the Independent National Electoral Commission has lost all standing to conduct a credible general election in 2027. She argued that the commission cannot be trusted to investigate itself after admitting that its own personnel manipulated the preliminary voter register.
Her remarks follow recent television appearances by the electoral body's Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode. According to THISAGE, Bayode admitted that registration staff used their authorized login access to insert artificial intelligence images, duplicate profiles, and false entries into the preliminary voter roll across multiple states.
Ezekwesili described the revelation as internal sabotage rather than an external cyberattack or technical error. She stressed that the electoral roll belongs strictly to Nigerian citizens rather than the commission or any political party, noting that the agency was only holding the document in trust.
The activist questioned how the commission could impartially audit its own wrongdoing. She pointed out that officials who created the system loopholes, those who carried out the fraudulent entries, and the supervisors who cleared them all have a conflict of interest in minimizing the fallout.
She expressed worry that days after the television confession, the electoral body had yet to reveal the specific states, local government areas, or total count of compromised records. She added that the public remains unaware if any compromised registration officers have been relieved of their duties or handed over to security agencies.
Ezekwesili warned that defending the compromised list as merely preliminary offers no relief, since the final voter list will be certified from it. She referenced the 2023 elections, stating that public faith in the electoral umpire had already suffered severe damage back then.
To resolve the crisis, she demanded the swift setup of an independent citizens caretaker rescue team. This team, comprising non-partisan Nigerians and technical professionals, should take custody of the clean-up process to guarantee credibility ahead of the 2027 polls.
