In a bold and critical statement, former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has openly criticized the current Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, asserting that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would not have been able to win the 2015 general elections if Yakubu had been in charge at that time.
Amaechi made this assertion during a live interview on Arise TV on Tuesday night, where he reflected on the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process and the leadership of the electoral commission over the years.
During the interview, he heaped praises on former INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, describing him as a transparent and fair administrator who upheld democratic principles and ensured that the APC was duly registered and allowed to participate in the political process, which eventually led to its victory in the 2015 elections.
“The current chairman of INEC, if he was chairman in 2015, we would not have won,” Amaechi said. “That’s an important point. May God bless Jega. Because the ground rules were clear. The current chairman of INEC can only be compared to Iwu,” he emphasized, making reference to former INEC chairman Maurice Iwu, whose tenure was marred by allegations of electoral misconduct.
Amaechi went further to allege that INEC under Professor Yakubu is grossly compromised and openly biased, especially in favor of those in power. He accused the electoral body of lacking transparency and fairness, stating that under Yakubu’s leadership, new political parties would be frustrated and prevented from being registered, regardless of whether they met all legal requirements.
“When we registered APC, Jega opened the door and we complied with the requirements. He got APC registered. The current chairman, even if you comply, would not register you,” he said.
The former minister expressed deep concerns over the direction Nigeria’s electoral system is heading. He lamented what he described as a clear pattern of bias, manipulation, and regression in the country’s democratic process.
“Already, INEC is biased. So, the only thing I can tell you now is that, looking at the way Nigeria has run the election, even the Option A4 led us forward. At least a lot of transparency. You were sure of what was going on. Then we came back to meet people like Iwu and others and the current one and things got worse,” Amaechi remarked.
He concluded his comments by warning that Nigeria’s electoral institution has become an instrument of state capture, used by those in power to maintain control and suppress opposition through manipulated electoral processes.
“So, you don’t know whether to say we are progressing or regressing. There’s a state capture using the electoral institution as a machine,” he said, adding weight to ongoing national conversations about electoral reform, transparency, and institutional independence.