Former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo has made a strong public accusation against the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, claiming that he has been “polluting” Nigeria’s electoral process since his appointment in 2015.
This statement appears to stem from Obasanjo’s recent launch of his new book: ‘Nigeria: Past and Future’, where he critiqued systemic issues in Nigeria’s democracy, including corruption in the judiciary and electoral bodies.
The accusation was reported widely highlighting Obasanjo’s long-standing concerns about electoral integrity under Yakubu’s leadership.
The former military Head of State equally stated that justice had become commodified in Nigeria, with dangerous consequences for the nation’s stability.
“The great fear of most well-meaning Nigerians and good friends of Nigeria is that where ‘justice’ is only available to the highest bidder, despair, anarchy, and violence would substitute justice, order, and hope.
“I went to a state in the North about ten years after I left public office. Next to the Government Guest House was a line of six duplex buildings.
“The governor pointed to the buildings and stated that they belonged to a judge who put them up from the money he made from being the chairman of election tribunals”, Obasanjo stated.
