A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kenneth Okonkwo, has criticised President Bola Tinubu over his defence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting the electoral body has not done enough to prove its neutrality.
The President made the remarks on Tuesday while receiving members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), led by its President, Most Rev. Matthew Ndagoso, at the State House in Abuja. During the meeting, Tinubu dismissed concerns about INEC’s impartiality, maintaining that the commission is neutral and suggesting that critics were merely “afraid of their own shadows.”
Reacting during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Okonkwo accused the President of speaking on behalf of the electoral commission instead of addressing public concerns about its credibility.
“It is very sad. Any country that has a president who has morphed into the chief spokesperson of INEC is in trouble,” he said.
Okonkwo argued that INEC has not earned the confidence of Nigerians, pointing to unresolved issues surrounding the 2023 general election.
He said, “You can imagine President Tinubu telling the whole world that INEC is neutral. The same Tinubu who, during the 2015 campaign, said they would form a parallel government if INEC rigged the election.
“The same people who were once critical of INEC are now saying INEC is neutral. An INEC that recorded a technical glitch in 2023 and has not satisfactorily explained it to Nigerians cannot simply be declared neutral. We are urging INEC to be neutral; as of today, it is not.”
Okonkwo, who also serves as a spokesperson for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 elections, said the President’s record in office, particularly in the areas of security and governance, could make re-election difficult.
According to him, Tinubu should consider stepping down after completing his first term rather than seeking another mandate.
“Tinubu should not even allow the election to hold; he should resign and go in peace,” he said.
Commenting on the recent Court of Appeal judgment that overturned an earlier ruling directing INEC to deregister the ADC and four other political parties, Okonkwo claimed the party had successfully resisted attempts to undermine its existence through the courts.
“I had boasted that ADC does not have any legal challenge because we know the only challenge it has is the APC trying to use some instruments in the judiciary to litigate us out of existence. We resisted them, and they are failing and falling like a pack of cards,” he said.
Okonkwo further accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of trying to weaken Nigeria’s democracy and frustrate opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He described the APC as “a scourge” on the country’s democratic system, alleging that the party was using various strategies to limit the ability of opposition parties to organise, mobilise supporters and campaign effectively ahead of the next election cycle.
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