The founder of ANAP Foundation, Mr. Atedo Peterside, has described the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under its immediate past chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, as a “national disgrace,” citing widespread irregularities and lack of transparency in the conduct of elections.
Peterside made the remarks on Monday during an interview on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, while reacting to the appointment of Professor Joash Amupitan as the new INEC Chairman following Yakubu’s exit.
“I will never say never, but the INEC that was led by Mahmood Yakubu was a national disgrace,” Peterside said. “You just have to go on their IReV. If you have time, I will take you there myself and show you result sheets they upload — mutilated, sometimes with figures changed, and in some cases, they even forget to change the words.”
The ANAP Foundation founder also took aim at the Nigerian judiciary, accusing it of failing to uphold democratic principles in election disputes. He backed calls for amendments to the Electoral Act that would shift the burden of proof from election petitioners to the electoral umpire.
“I heard former Governor Dickson saying in the Senate that we have to amend the Electoral Act in some important way,” he said. “This is where our judiciary has not lived up to the required standards. I agree with Senator Dickson that the burden of proof should shift to INEC. You can’t allow a situation where INEC can do anything — bring out rubbish results, mutilated and everything — and then argue that it’s for the victim to prove that what they’ve done is wrong, when even a blind man can see that what they’ve done is wrong.”
Peterside warned that growing disillusionment with INEC and the judiciary could lead to a loss of public faith in the democratic process. “If nothing is done to restore trust, people might resort to self-help in future elections,” he cautioned.
President Bola Tinubu had, on October 23, sworn in Professor Joash Amupitan as the new INEC Chairman, a week after his confirmation by the Senate. Amupitan’s appointment follows the end of Professor Yakubu’s tenure, who served as INEC chairman from 2015 to October 2025.
