Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has stated that Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) need to scrutinise the activities of Political Parties and State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) in order to strengthen democracy and improve the way elections are conducted in Nigeria.

Yakubu noted that the calibre of political party primaries determines the calibre of elected officials nationwide and questioned why civil society organisations frequently overlook the way local government elections are conducted.

Yakubu was speaking when a group of civil society organisations visited the Commission’s Abuja headquarters under the auspices of the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, which is headed by Mr. Yinusa Z. Ya’u.

Prof. Yakubu acknowledged the civil society community’s contributions to the progressive enhancement of Nigeria’s democratic process and election management, but asserted that more work must be done by CSOs to persuade other stakeholders to share their commitment to advancing democracy.

“We will continue to face challenges no matter what INEC does if other actors are not ready to play by the rules or in sync,” he stated.

While outlining a few situations in which modifications made by those involved in the voting process are

“Keep in mind that the majority of the advancements in election management that you witness are due to the civil society’s activism.” However, he added, “the civil society does not always speak out about other kinds of elections.”

Yakubu emphasised the significance of legitimate party primaries, stating that illegitimate primary elections would harm the electoral process since the electorate would be forced to choose between the candidates that arose from these primaries.

Consider how the party primaries are run, for example. Primary elections are held by political parties, and secondary elections are held by INEC. Therefore, the political parties’ primaries are actually the most significant procedure. We place the candidates they propose on the ballot. People

“All of the candidates from the ruling party are declared the winners of elections held at the local government level by the SIECs. However, the civic society remains silent. We at INEC welcome suggestions for improvement. It’s a necessary component for change, but we want every aspect of elections to go smoothly. We cannot have one element performing well while another performs poorly, he continued.