The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to disband the current leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which they accuse of deliberate misconduct and crass electoral heists during the last election cycle.
HURIWA urged President Tinubu to appoint new patriotic, competent, neutral, and committed Nigerians as Chairman and National Commissioners for INEC through a transparent screening process.
The right group believes that if the present corrupt INEC stays in office until 2027, there may be national conflagration due to their incompetence.
In a statement by its national coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko pointed out that federal government officials have sabotaged democratic interests by responding negatively to reports from foreign observers such as the European Union Election Observation Mission (EUEOM).
The EUEOM presented its final report highlighting six priority areas for reforming Nigeria’s electoral system, including removing ambiguities in the law, establishing a publicly accountable selection process for INEC members based on clear criteria of evaluation of merits and qualifications, ensuring real-time publication and access to election results with clear rules.
The right group urged President Tinubu to consider larger Nigerian interests by bringing about reforms at INEC rather than focusing only on his next election.
HURIWA believed that it is crucial for the president to demonstrate political will by putting square pegs in square holes at INEC through a transparent appointment process as the current INEC leadership suffers from what it described as’’ irreparable ethical erosion; therefore, their continuous stay in office is corrosive and toxic to our electoral system as a nation.
