The first fruits of INEC's mess
By Chidi Odinkalu Evidence of the scope of the mess created by Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, under the leadership of Mahmood Yakubu began to emerge this past week. It all suggests network of egregiousness on a monumental scale that easily rivals the elections of 2007, until now seen as the nadir in Nigeria’s journey of elective governance. As the National Judicial Council, NJC, released the names of the 257 judges who will sit to consider and decide on elections petitions around the country beginning in May 2023, it emerged this past week that so far 1,044 petitions have been filed against results declared by INEC in the 2023 elections. That is already more than 70% of the 1,490 seats contested and it appears that these are not the final numbers. The relationship between election petitions and acceptability of elections in Nigeria is one of direct proportionality. Candidates and parties who believe that the results reflect the will of the ...