Jega: Nigeria’s Democracy Risks Collapse Without Electoral Integrity

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

Former Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, yesterday in Abuja, warned that Nigeria’s democracy risked collapse unless urgent measures were taken to restore integrity and public trust in the electoral process. Jega stated this in a keynote address titled, “Electoral Integrity as a Panacea for Democratic Development in Nigeria,” at the 9th Convocation Ceremony of National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), in affiliation with the University of Benin.

Jega said democracy could not thrive where elections were manipulated, institutions were compromised, and citizens lost faith in the process that determined their leaders.

Quoting former United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, Jega stated, “Power, and the competition for power must be regulated. It is not enough for governments to create institutions; politicians must respect and safeguard the independence and professionalism of election officials, judges, and courts.”

The former INEC boss lamented that 25 years after Nigeria’s return to civil rule, the country’s democratic journey had remained “challenging, if not disappointing,” because the electoral process had consistently failed to inspire confidence or produce truly representative leadership.

He said, “For a quarter of a century, Nigeria has been muddling through democratic development with aspirations for consolidation. But these aspirations have been constrained by enormous challenges, chief among them, the question of electoral integrity.”

Jega, who oversaw the 2011 and 2015 elections, stated that periodic elections alone did not make a democracy.

According to him, “Elections that lack integrity undermine democracy, weaken public trust, and lead to governance failure.”

He warned that when politicians manipulated the process, the outcome inevitably produced unresponsive leaders, who would fail to deliver good governance.

“Only elected officials who truly reflect the genuine choices of the electorate can drive governance that protects citizens’ rights and aspirations,” he added.