A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Adetokunbo Pearse, has criticised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), describing it as the root cause of electoral discrepancies in the country.
In a candid discussion on Nigeria’s political climate on Breakfast Central, Pearse argued that the 2023 presidential election lacked a clear winner and called for urgent reforms of the electoral body.
“Nobody won that 2023 presidential election. Nobody. Atiku got 12 states, Obi got 12 states, Tinubu got 12 states. 31 percent of the vote came in and INEC announced. INEC is the issue,” as he questioned the legitimacy of the 2023 presidential election results,
He claimed that electoral irregularities were facilitated by INEC, which he believes operates under undue influence from the executive branch.
He further argued that INEC played a key role in manipulating election outcomes in favour of certain candidates.
“INEC is the one that made Akpabio a senator. Akpabio is not qualified to be a senator because Akpabio did not run for Senate,” Pearse alleged, extending his criticism to other politicians: “There are so many of them. They are criminals who are not even qualified to be there. What happened? INEC gave it to them.”
Pearse emphasised the urgent need to restructure INEC to ensure credible elections in Nigeria. He also pointed out the issue of executive interference in the commission’s operations.
