Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has openly criticized the current Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, claiming that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would not have been registered or won the 2015 general elections if Yakubu had been in charge at the time.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV on Tuesday night, Amaechi praised former INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, for overseeing what he described as a transparent and credible electoral process that enabled the APC’s emergence and victory.
“The current chairman of INEC, if he was the chairman of INEC in 2015, we would not have won. That’s an important point. May God bless (Attahiru) Jega. Because the ground rules were clear,” Amaechi said. “The current chairman of INEC can only be compared to (Maurice) Iwu.”
He recounted how Jega facilitated APC’s registration process by ensuring the commission followed due process. In contrast, he accused Yakubu of being unwilling to register parties even when they meet the required conditions.
Amaechi further alleged that the current INEC leadership under Yakubu is showing signs of bias, raising concerns about the credibility of future elections.
“Already, INEC is biased. So, the only thing I can tell you now is that, looking at the way Nigeria has run elections—even the Option A4 system moved us forward. At least there was transparency. You were sure of what was going on. Then we came back to meet people like Iwu and the current one, and things got worse,” he added.
He concluded by warning of what he termed “state capture,” where the electoral institution is allegedly being used as a tool to undermine democratic progress.
