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By Lizzy Chirkpi
Former vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Dr. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, has described insecurity and corruption in Nigeria as direct consequences of electoral fraud.
He, therefore, called on the Federal Government to appoint a credible and principled successor to Professor Mahmood Yakubu, whose tenure as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is set to end on November 9, 2025.
Speaking during an interview on national television on Friday night, Baba-Ahmed linked Nigeria’s deepening crisis of insecurity and corruption to flawed and fraudulent electoral processes, particularly the 2023 general elections, which he described as a turning point in Nigeria’s democratic regression.
“Our leadership recruitment is the bane of our problems,” Baba-Ahmed declared. “Electoral fraud is the single most important fact to be addressed in our lives as a nation, even beyond insecurity. Insecurity is derived from electoral fraud.”
According to him, the failure to ensure credible elections has led to the rise of unaccountable leaders, eroded public trust, and emboldened corrupt practices across all levels of government.
“The Nigerian election gave birth to the kind of insecurity we have today. Corruption is aggravated by electoral fraud. The destruction of our youths, of the system, is aggravated by electoral fraud,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed did not hold back in his criticism of the outgoing INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, accusing him of overseeing a compromised election in 2023 one that, in his view, violated clear constitutional provisions and helped install an illegitimate administration.
“All I want is a credible person, not somebody who will clearly rig what the constitution provides: 25% in at least two-thirds of the states of the federation and the FCT, and go ahead to breach the constitution and put Nigeria into what Nigeria is today. Just one individual,” he said.
“Throughout human history, individuals make or break societies.”
With Professor Yakubu’s second five-year term winding down having first been appointed in 2015 and reappointed in 2020 Baba-Ahmed urged the government not to repeat past mistakes. He stressed that only a person of unquestionable integrity, impartiality, and democratic commitment should be considered to lead INEC at this critical juncture.
“Nigeria does not need an election-rigger to lead the electoral body after Yakubu,” he warned.
As the nation prepares for future elections, Baba-Ahmed calls for growing concern among citizens and civil society that the credibility of Nigeria’s democratic institutions hinges on transparent electoral processes beginning with the right leadership at INEC.