‘Nigeria In Trouble, President Has Become INEC Spokesperson’ – Okonkwo

Nollywood actor cum chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kenneth Okonkwo, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for defending the neutrality of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

According to him, the electoral body has yet to do enough to convince Nigerians that it is impartial.

Okonkwo’s comments followed Tinubu’s recent defence of the electoral commission during a meeting with members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria at the State House in Abuja.

The President, who met with the bishops led by their President, Most Rev. Matthew Ndagoso, on Tuesday, dismissed concerns about INEC’s neutrality and maintained that the commission remained independent.

Tinubu described those questioning the credibility of the electoral body as people who were “afraid of their own shadows.”

However, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Okonkwo faulted the President for defending INEC instead of allowing the commission to respond to questions surrounding its conduct.

“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 still had several issues to address, particularly concerns arising from the conduct of the 2023 general election.

He questioned why the President was assuring Nigerians about the commission’s neutrality when the electoral body had yet to satisfactorily explain some of the controversies surrounding the last general election.

“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,” Okonkwo said.

He added, “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.”

The ADC chieftain, who is also a spokesperson for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar‘s 2027 presidential bid, also criticised the performance of the Tinubu administration.

He claimed that the government’s record in areas including security and governance could affect the President’s chances of securing a second term in office.

Okonkwo advised Tinubu not to seek re-election in 2027, saying the President should leave office after completing his first term.

“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 said the party had successfully resisted attempts to remove it from the political space.

The Court of Appeal’s decision, according to Okonkwo, demonstrated that the party could withstand legal challenges aimed at weakening or eliminating it ahead of the 2027 elections.

“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 also accused the ruling All Progressives Congress of undermining democratic competition by allegedly using different strategies to weaken opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He alleged that the ruling party was attempting to restrict the ability of opposition parties to organise and compete effectively.

The ADC chieftain described the APC as ‘a scourge’ on Nigeria’s democracy.

He maintained that opposition parties would continue to resist what he described as attempts to weaken political competition and prevent Nigerians from having a wider choice during elections.