Kingsley Moghalu, a former deputy governor at the Central Bank of Nigeria, has expressed grave concerns about the future of democracy in Nigeria.
News About Nigeria reports that this was disclosed in a social media post on page on Saturday.
Moghalu said that the country’s democratic system is at risk of collapse unless the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is granted true autonomy and electronic transmission of election results becomes compulsory.
He stressed that if the commission remains beholden to external influences, the country’s elections will become nothing more than a sham, allowing political parties to manipulate the system and seize control of the state.
He wrote, “Democracy in Nigeria has a bleak future if @inecnigeria is not truly independent, and if electronic transmission and collation of election results is not made MANDATORY. Else, elections simply remain a charade – a path to state capture by whichever political parties are able to.”
The former Deputy Governor’s comments are critical in Nigeria’s political landscape.
With general elections on the horizon, the need for a free, fair, and transparent electoral process has never been more pressing.
Moghalu’s call for INEC’s independence and the mandatory use of electronic transmission and collation of election results is a vital step towards achieving this goal.
In his statement, Moghalu emphasised that the current state of Nigeria’s democracy is precarious.
He noted that unless INEC is empowered to operate independently, the country’s elections will remain vulnerable to manipulation and exploitation by political parties.
This, in turn, will undermine the legitimacy of the electoral process and erode trust in the government.
Moghalu’s concerns are not unfounded. Nigeria’s electoral history is replete with instances of vote rigging, electoral violence, and other forms of malpractice.
These incidents have often been linked to the manipulation of election results, either through the alteration of physical ballot papers or the falsification of results during the collation process.
The introduction of electronic transmission and collation of election results has been hailed as a potential game-changer in Nigeria’s electoral process.
However, by leveraging technology, INEC can reduce the risk of human error and malpractice, ensuring that election results are accurate and reflect the true will of the people.
However, Moghalu’s call for the mandatory use of electronic transmission and collation of election results is not without its challenges.
Some have argued that the country’s infrastructure and technological capabilities may not be sufficient to support the widespread adoption of electronic voting systems.
Others have raised concerns about the potential for cyberattacks and other forms of electronic manipulation.
