Former INEC Commissioner Mike Igini Warns of Political Infiltration, Compromised Election Staff Recruitment, Weak Law Enforcement and Eroding Rule of Law Ahead of 2027 Elections
Former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) commissioner Mike Igini has warned that politicians are infiltrating agencies responsible for supplying election staff, raising concerns about the commission’s ability to conduct credible elections in 2027.
Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, Igini said political interference in the recruitment process could expose INEC to problems caused by other institutions, while the failure to enforce electoral laws remained his greatest concern ahead of the next general election.
“What happened is that politicians infiltrate those agencies. They infiltrate those agencies and create liability for the INEC itself as an institution. The laws are no longer enforced. That is my greatest worry about this election.”
Igini spoke about the recruitment of ad hoc staff, the use of technology. “The most important staff that Nigeria should focus on will be the presiding officers.”
He said the presiding officers play a central role at polling units, where votes are cast and recorded. “At the polling unit, the presiding officer at the ward collection officer, Nigeria can go to section 25 to see.”
Igini said INEC must pay close attention to the integrity of the people deployed to manage elections. “The state has failed to protect the vote of Nigerian people. How can you pay 26.7 billion? Yet those people cannot be held accountable?”
He also warned that Nigeria’s electoral challenges reflected wider problems with leadership and the rule of law. “The crisis of Nigeria is a leadership recruitment process.”
He said the country could not resolve its economic problems without addressing its political system, If we cannot fix the politics, we cannot fix our economy.”
Igini also expressed concern that the rule of law was giving way to the influence of individuals.
“And that today, where we are supposed to be under the rule of law, we are now under the rule of men.”
He said openness was necessary to build public confidence in the electoral process. He rejected secrecy as a response to calls for transparency.
“The call for openness and transparency can never be answered by secrecy.”
Igini also challenged the argument that political parties and candidates could not publish their own election results. “The argument that candidate political party cannot publicise their result is wholly incorrect.”
He said the polling unit remained central to the electoral process and stressed the importance of protecting the results recorded there.
“And so, at the heart of this election is the polling unit. That’s the key.”
He also warned that weaknesses in the process could allow people to announce results without proper authority. “So somebody can come and impersonate tomorrow and just announce electoral results. This story happened in 2023. We’ve not sorted it out till date.”
Igini said technology was important to the conduct of elections and warned that organisations that failed to adapt risked falling behind. “Any organisation that failed to embrace the benefit of technology will be overtaken by the chaos or decay and decline.”
He also raised concerns about attempts to intimidate journalists and citizens reporting on electoral matters, saying such actions violated their rights. “The attempt to intimidate media, houses, intimidate Niger citizens, that they cannot report, is a violation of section 39.”
Igini said the polling unit remained the key point at which voters’ choices must be protected.
“The power of the people at the polling unit is awesome.”
He also warned that public officials must be held accountable for their actions. “What I said that we need to build more prisons because many of the characters you see today in public offices, they are simply candidates for prison.”
Igini said Nigeria must protect elections as a means of ensuring the peaceful transfer of power. “We have to be very careful, because the greatest promise of democracy is periodic election for peaceful transfer of power.”
