Former Minister of Education and founder of #FixPolitics, Dr Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili, has declared that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has lost the credibility required to serve as an independent umpire in Nigeria’s elections, warning that the integrity of the 2027 general elections is already under serious threat.
Ezekwesili made the declaration in an open memorandum titled “INEC Has Lost All Credibility to Be an Independent Umpire of Nigeria’s Elections,” in which she called for the immediate establishment of an independent Citizens’ Electoral Rescue Team to take charge of restoring public confidence in the electoral process.
She argued that Nigeria could not reasonably expect to conduct credible elections in 2027 under the current leadership of INEC, following revelations by the Commission’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, concerning alleged manipulation of the preliminary voters’ register by some registration officers.
According to Ezekwesili, Bayode disclosed during national television interviews on October 30 and November 1, 2026, that INEC officials had allegedly used their official login credentials to introduce AI-generated photographs, duplicate records and other fabricated entries into the preliminary voters’ register.
She said the revelations were particularly disturbing because the alleged irregularities were not isolated incidents but had reportedly been discovered across several states.
Ezekwesili further drew attention to the INEC ICT Director’s reported admission that public trust in the Commission had fallen to what he described as “ground zero,” arguing that such an admission exposed the depth of the institutional crisis confronting the electoral body.
She maintained that the controversy went beyond a technical failure or external cyberattack, describing it as an alleged internal compromise of an institution entrusted with protecting the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral register.
INEC Cannot Investigate INEC, Ezekwesili Insists
The former minister questioned the credibility of allowing INEC to independently investigate allegations involving its own officials, departments and internal processes.
She argued that an institution whose personnel are accused of compromising the voters’ register cannot be the sole authority responsible for investigating the allegations and supervising the restoration of the same database.
According to her, Nigerians are yet to receive adequate information about the scale of the alleged manipulation, including the number of affected records, the states and local government areas involved, the identities of implicated officials and whether any disciplinary or criminal proceedings have commenced.
She also rejected INEC’s apparent defence that the affected database was only a preliminary register, insisting that the preliminary register forms the foundation upon which the final voters’ register will be certified.
Ezekwesili warned that allowing the Commission to conduct an internal investigation without independent oversight could result in fraudulent records surviving into the final register and ultimately undermining the 2027 elections.
She further recalled the controversy surrounding the 2023 general elections, arguing that Nigerians had already experienced a significant collapse of public confidence in INEC and could no longer be expected to rely on assurances without independent verification.
Demands Independent Citizens’ Electoral Rescue Team
As a solution, Ezekwesili proposed the immediate constitution of a Caretaker Rescue Team, describing it as an independent Citizens’ Electoral Team comprising credible, non-partisan Nigerians and technical experts.
She said the proposed body should be empowered to take custody of the clean-up process of the voters’ register and supervise citizens’ participation in monitoring and verifying the 2027 elections.
She identified three major reasons for the proposal: the need for independence to address alleged insider compromise, the limited time remaining before the 2027 elections and the need to replace public faith in INEC with verifiable evidence of electoral integrity.
On its proposed composition, she recommended independent forensic data specialists, cybersecurity and biometric experts, civil society organisations, representatives of the Nigerian Bar Association, professional ICT and accounting bodies, academics, religious and traditional leaders, political party observers and credible international election observers.
She, however, insisted that serving or former INEC officials, political officeholders, candidates and party officials must not be members of the proposed team.
Six-Point Mandate Proposed for Rescue Team
Ezekwesili outlined six major responsibilities for the proposed Citizens’ Electoral Rescue Team.
They include taking immediate custody of the preliminary voters’ register, image files, access logs and audit trails to prevent alteration or deletion; conducting and publishing a comprehensive forensic audit of the national voters’ database; identifying implicated officials and ensuring their suspension and referral for prosecution; and supervising the removal of fraudulent records before the final register is certified.
The team would also establish and enforce standards for citizens to observe, verify and defend the 2027 elections, including open access to the voters’ register, polling unit results, electronic transmission of results and collation processes at every level.
She proposed that the team should report directly to Nigerians through a publicly accessible reporting schedule rather than operate under the control of INEC.
Calls on National Assembly to Invoke Doctrine of Necessity
Ezekwesili specifically called on the National Assembly to make a public declaration and urgently enact what she described as a Doctrine of Necessity law to establish and empower the proposed Citizens’ Electoral Rescue Team
She urged lawmakers to act before the final voters’ register is certified, warning that any delay could make it difficult to recover the integrity of the electoral database before the 2027 elections.
She also called on civil society organisations, professional associations, religious leaders, young Nigerians, the judiciary and the international community to support the demand for an independent intervention.
Emphasising the importance of the voters’ register to the entire electoral process, Ezekwesili declared that the register was effectively the first ballot, warning that if its integrity was compromised, the credibility of every subsequent ballot would be threatened.
She stressed that the proposed intervention was not intended to abolish INEC or usurp its constitutional responsibilities, but to subject the restoration and certification of the voters’ register, as well as electoral transparency mechanisms, to independent public oversight.
In a strong concluding appeal, she warned that the alleged manipulation of the voters’ register could deepen political tensions as campaigns intensify, with potentially damaging consequences for Nigeria’s democracy
“The people did not delegate to INEC the right to corrupt our register, and we do not delegate to INEC the right to conceal the extent of its corruption,” she maintained.
Ezekwesili insisted that Nigerians must act immediately, while the evidence remains available and before the final register is certified.
Her intervention has added a significant dimension to the growing national debate over the credibility of INEC, the integrity of the voters’ register and the institutional safeguards required to guarantee a transparent and credible 2027 general election.
Source: Open memorandum by Dr Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili.
