A former top election official has spoken about the serious problems hurting fair voting in Nigeria. Mike Igini, who once served as a Resident Electoral Commissioner, said old rules made it easy to rig elections at polling stations.
Presiding officers could give out ballot papers without proper checks, and returning officers had too much final power that could only be challenged in court. Politicians often bought off these officers instead of letting people’s votes count.
Igini praised the 2022 Electoral Act for fixing many of these weaknesses. He said it took twenty years of pressure on the National Assembly to make the changes. The new rules let the election body review suspicious results internally without always going to court. He reminded everyone that elections are only a tool and the real goal is progress and development, but Nigeria keeps getting stuck arguing over the same voting problems every four years.
He did not hold back when pointing out who is hurting democracy the most. Igini said if Nigeria ever collapses, it will be because of lawyers, both at the bar and in the courts. He explained how the 2010 rules tied the election body too closely to the president, and it took pressure on former President Goodluck Jonathan to free INEC so it could act independently.
Igini also criticized parts of current law that control how long someone must belong to a political party before running for office. He said this goes against the constitution and the right to freely join any party. Political parties are the backbone of democracy and should not be limited.
He warned that without strong rule of law, democracy becomes nothing but selfish people chasing power and money. He reminded police and security agencies that their job during elections is to make sure Nigerians can vote safely. The 2022 Act says no party or candidate should be stopped from holding rallies and public places must be shared fairly.
He recalled a 2015 case in Edo State when someone threatened to use federal power, and he stood firm that only the votes of the people should decide winners, not force.
Igini ended with a strong message: credible elections give life to democracy and democracy is the best hope for the people. But it can only survive where the rule of law is respected and people of integrity, especially in the courts, do the right thing.
