A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kenneth Okonkwo, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for defending the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against allegations of bias, insisting that the electoral body has yet to demonstrate neutrality.
President Tinubu had made the remarks on Tuesday while receiving members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), led by its President, Most Rev. Matthew Ndagoso, at the State House, Abuja. The President dismissed concerns over INEC’s impartiality, maintaining that the commission remains neutral and suggesting that critics were merely “afraid of their own shadows.”
Reacting during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Okonkwo accused the President of acting as a spokesperson for the electoral commission rather than addressing concerns about its credibility.
“It is very sad. Any country that has a president who has morphed into the chief spokesperson of INEC is in trouble,” he said.
Okonkwo argued that INEC has not done enough to earn public confidence, citing unresolved questions surrounding the 2023 general election.
“You can imagine President Tinubu telling the whole world that INEC is neutral. The same Tinubu who, during the 2015 campaign, said they would form a parallel government if INEC rigged the election.
“The same people who were once critical of INEC are now saying INEC is neutral. An INEC that recorded a technical glitch in 2023 and has not satisfactorily explained it to Nigerians cannot simply be declared neutral. We are urging INEC to be neutral; as of today, it is not,” he said.
Okonkwo, who also serves as a spokesperson for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 election, further argued that the President’s performance in office would make it difficult for him to secure re-election in 2027, particularly citing concerns over security and governance.
According to him, Tinubu should consider leaving office at the end of his first term rather than seeking a second mandate.
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“Tinubu should not even allow the election to hold; he should resign and go in peace,” he said.
Commenting on the recent Court of Appeal judgment that set aside an earlier ruling directing INEC to deregister the ADC and four other political parties, Okonkwo claimed the opposition party had successfully resisted attempts to undermine its existence through the courts.
“I had boasted that ADC does not have any legal challenge because we know the only challenge it has is the APC trying to use some instruments in the judiciary to litigate us out of existence. We resisted them, and they are failing and falling like a pack of cards,” he said.
Okonkwo also accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempting to weaken Nigeria’s democratic process and stifle opposition activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He described the APC as “a scourge” on the nation’s democracy, alleging that the party was employing various tactics to hinder opposition parties from mobilising and campaigning effectively ahead of the next election cycle.
