… Says Some Of Them Still In Power
Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has accused a powerful cabal within the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari of frustrating efforts to implement genuine electoral reforms.
Amaechi, who spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at the National Electoral Reforms Summit organised by the Movement for Credible Elections (MCE), said the late Buhari’s intention to overhaul Nigeria’s electoral process was deliberately thwarted by those close to him in government.
He alleged that some of those who sabotaged the reforms are currently serving in the present administration.
“Most Nigerians who talk about electoral reform, it depends on where their stomach is facing,” Amaechi said pointedly.
“If their stomach is facing the wrong direction, they will want electoral reform. But if they are eating, they will say it is wrong to eat and talk.”
He added that meaningful reform must come from the people rather than politicians, stressing that civic determination was the only weapon to prevent electoral malpractice.
“If citizens come out en masse, nobody will write results or take away result sheets. Anyone who tries it will only cause confusion for himself,” the former minister declared.
Amaechi, who expressed disappointment over the absence of former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku — both scheduled guests at the summit — warned that resolutions from such gatherings would remain empty if citizens failed to demand change.
“The real objective will be achieved when we all, as citizens, gather and say, enough is enough,” he said.
He further criticised the perceived co-option of trade unions and student movements by the political elite. “The politicians they arrest are those opposed to the government in power,” he remarked.
Also speaking at the event, former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, described elections as the backbone of democracy, lamenting that Nigeria had failed to meet key democratic standards since the return to civil rule in 1999.
Ezekwesili advocated for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be empowered with prosecutorial authority, arguing that the absence of credible prosecution for electoral offences encourages impunity.
“The lack of investigation and conviction for electoral offences has created a system with no deterrence for bad behaviour,” she said. “Granting INEC its own prosecutors will strengthen accountability in our electoral process.”
The summit, attended by political reform advocates, civil society groups, and policy experts, explored pathways to restore public confidence in Nigeria’s elections and safeguard democratic integrity.
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