The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said on Friday that no politician can rig the upcoming general election in the country. Dr Mutiu Agboke, the immediate past Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Oyo State, also assured Nigerians that the 2023 general election would be fair.
While delivering a lecture in Ibadan for marking the 83rd birthday anniversary of the chairman and founder of an Ibadan-based radio station Splash FM, High Chief Adebayo Akande, Agboke urged Nigerians to have faith in the electoral process in Nigeria.
He also called on Nigerians to collect their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) and vote on the day of the election. Reportedly, over 700,000 Permanent Voters Cards are yet to be collected in Oyo State because the residents of the state are still not ready for the upcoming elections.
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Elections in Nigeria have often been ruined by electoral fraud claims and court challenges since Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999. Since independence from Britain in 1960, there have been numerous coups and most elections were rigged in Nigeria. The country has also suffered from attacks by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. Nigeria also needs to tackle poverty, violence, hunger and unemployment.
General elections in Nigeria
The Nigerian presidential election will be held on 25 February 2023 to elect the President and Vice President. Insecurity has been a major challenge to Africa’s largest democracy in recent years.
In February, the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, approved an amended election law to allow the electronic transfer of vote results in the 2023 general elections to improve transparency. The amended electoral law allows the INEC to authorise electronic transmission of voting results to prevent fraud in the next year’s elections.
