Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has stated that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would not have secured victory in the 2015 general elections if the current Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, had been in office at the time.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV on Tuesday night, Amaechi commended the role played by the former INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, in ensuring a transparent electoral process that allowed the APC to be registered and ultimately emerge victorious in the landmark 2015 elections.
“If the current INEC chairman was in charge in 2015, we wouldn’t have won. That’s the truth. May God bless Jega the rules were clear,” Amaechi said.
“Back then, Jega ensured APC complied with all due processes, and we got registered. But with the current chairman, even if you meet all the requirements, he wouldn’t register you.”
Amaechi criticized what he described as a decline in electoral integrity under Yakubu’s leadership, drawing comparisons with former INEC Chairman Maurice Iwu. He suggested that the current INEC lacks neutrality and has displayed signs of bias.
“INEC is already biased,” he alleged. “Looking at how elections are conducted in Nigeria now, even the old Option A4 system offered more transparency. At least then, everyone could see what was happening. But now, with people like Iwu and this current chairman, things have gotten worse.”
He concluded by expressing concern that the country may be experiencing a form of state capture, with INEC being used as a political instrument.
“It’s difficult to tell whether we’re progressing or regressing. It feels like there’s state capture underway, with the electoral body being used as a tool.”
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