I have said it many times that if Nigerians do not go head-on with INEC in terms of scrutiny, the Joash Amupitan INEC will deliver a poor election result, even worse than Yakubu Mahmoud.
So, Emeka Ike, a Nollywood actor, announced his candidacy for a House of Representatives seat in the FCT under the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). Shortly after, Lere Olayinka, the media aide to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, published screenshots on social media containing restricted data from INEC’s back-end portal about Emeka Ike’s personal details, just to mock him.
The whole public saw it, and people were not cool with it at all.
Following the public outrage and threats of legal action by Emeka Ike, INEC, as usual, embarked on a self-investigation of itself and thereafter issued an official statement outlining its preliminary findings on the issue.
Now, you may ask, what were their findings?
INEC said it conducted an internal investigation and discovered that it did not suffer any external server hack. Instead, it confirmed that internal personnel leaked Nollywood actor Emeka Ike’s personal voter credentials to Lere Olayinka.
At first glance, that statement may appear reassuring. But on a deeper look, it raises even more troubling questions than it answers.
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These are the questions that remain unanswered by INEC.
Why is INEC always quick to become a judge in its own case by embarking on self-investigation whenever there is an allegation hanging over it?
Secondly, why does a frontline registration official have unmonitored privileges to screenshot and export sensitive records of VIP candidates vying for election, since INEC claims it was an official who leaked the information?
Why does INEC’s server lack tools capable of blocking, tracking, or flagging unauthorized digital exports of confidential voter information?
If what INEC is saying is true, then it indirectly means that in 2027, there is a possibility of INEC hiding under this same guise to explain away bulk data leaks that may have happened undetected, just the same way Yakubu explained the “technical glitch” in 2023.
The Joash Amupitan INEC is not yet ready to conduct the 2027 election, and the earlier Nigerians beam their searchlight of scrutiny on INEC, the better.
The integrity of any election begins long before election day. It starts with the confidence people have in the institution conducting it. Once that confidence begins to crack, the credibility of the entire process is placed in doubt.
Nigerians must pay attention.
Ekene Aninze Esq.
