Former President Goodluck Jonathan has blamed election rigging on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies, accusing them of turning a blind eye to irregularities and malpractices.
Asked how Nigeria could tackle its perennial electoral crisis through reforms in ARISE TV interview aired on Monday, Mr Jonathan lamented the “electoral process in Nigeria is still wobbling,” blaming INEC and security agencies.
“The problem we have is the electoral management body, INEC and the security. I used to give an example: If two soccer teams are playing and the referee decides to look the other way, they will injure themselves,” Mr Jonathan said.
The ex-president stated, “Election is like a soccer game. Everybody wants to win. And you must not allow it. The electoral management body shares more than 60 per cent of the blame. Because if they do their work well, the politicians will have no choice but to follow the rules.”
The former president explained that with “manual voting, we have (a) problem in this country.”
He added, “Electronic, we have (a) problem. Where is the problem coming from? So it is the electoral management body in this case. INEC has to sit up so that they will not throw this country into conflagration one day.”
Amid contentions, President-elect Bola Tinubu will be sworn in Monday after INEC declared him the winner of the February 25 presidential election.
Opposition parties and their presidential flag bearers, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar (PDP) and ex-Governor Peter Obi (Labour Party), are contesting the victory of Mr Tinubu in court.
Both have refused to concede defeat or congratulate Mr Tinubu.
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