A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kenneth Okonkwo, has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s defence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Okonkwo argued that the commission has not done enough to convince Nigerians of its impartiality.
Tinubu had on Tuesday, during a meeting with members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria led by its President, Most Rev. Matthew Ndagoso, at the State House, Abuja, dismissed concerns about INEC’s neutrality.
Tinubu maintained that the electoral umpire remained independent, describing those questioning its credibility as people who were “afraid of their own shadows.”
However, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Okonkwo accused the President of defending INEC instead of allowing the commission to respond to concerns about its conduct.
“It is very sad. Any country that has a president who has morphed into the chief spokesperson of INEC is in trouble,” he said.
The ADC chieftain argued that INEC still had outstanding issues to address, particularly regarding the controversies surrounding the 2023 general election.
“You can imagine President Tinubu telling the whole world that INEC is neutral. The same Tinubu who, during the 2015 campaign, said they would form a parallel government if INEC rigged the election.
“The same people who were once critical of INEC are now saying INEC is neutral. An INEC that recorded a technical glitch in 2023 and has not satisfactorily explained it to Nigerians cannot simply be declared neutral. We are urging INEC to be neutral; as of today, it is not,” he said.
Okonkwo, who is also a spokesperson for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s 2027 presidential bid, further criticised the Tinubu administration, claiming its performance in areas such as security and governance could affect the President’s chances of returning for a second term.
He advised Tinubu against seeking another mandate, saying the President should consider leaving office after his first term.
“Tinubu should not even allow the election to hold; he should resign and go in peace,” he said.
Reacting to the recent Court of Appeal judgment that overturned an earlier decision ordering INEC to deregister the ADC and four other political parties, Okonkwo said the party had successfully fought off attempts to eliminate it through legal means.
“I had boasted that ADC does not have any legal challenge because we know the only challenge it has is the APC trying to use some instruments in the judiciary to litigate us out of existence. We resisted them, and they are failing and falling like a pack of cards,” he said.
He accused the ruling All Progressives Congress of undermining democratic competition and attempting to restrict opposition activities ahead of the 2027 elections.
Okonkwo described the APC as “a scourge” on Nigeria’s democracy, alleging that the ruling party was using different strategies to weaken opposition parties and limit their ability to organise ahead of the next general election.
(The Whistler)