Prof Attahiru Jega, former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, has advised the commission to protect its independence ahead of the 2023 elections.
He said this would prevent the reversal of the gains INEC has recorded in the electoral process since 1999.
The ex-INEC chairman said the commission has administrative and financial autonomy that is the envy of other electoral bodies in Africa.
Speaking in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at a conference organised by the management of Tell magazine to mark 20 years of democracy in Nigeria, he regretted that for many reasons, voters’ turnout during elections had been declining since 1999.
The conference, which held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, had the theme: Democracy and the Rule of Law.
He warned that under no circumstance should the electoral umpire allow some of the infractions that characterised this year’s general elections to be repeated in the future.
In a paper titled: The Electoral Process in Nigeria: Safeguarding the People’s Will for Democracy to Thrive, Jega said: “The challenge of democratic development, for a country such as Nigeria, is how to avoid a regression and reversal, and continuously bring about incremental positive changes towards consolidation.
“Given Nigeria’s complex political dynamics and past history of prolonged military rule, reversal is a strong possibility. How to avoid it, indeed how to prevent it, and keep on moving decidedly on the democratic trajectory, is a near herculean task.”
