Your tenure witnessed worst election in Nigeria’s history – Ohanaeze youths tell Obasanjo

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide has berated former President Olusegun Obasanjo over his criticism of Nigeria’s recent elections.
The elder statesman had during the Chinua Achebe leadership forum held at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, described the 2023 general elections as a travesty.
He advocated for the appointment of new and credible leaders for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, with short tenure to prevent corruption and re-establish trust.
He said, “As a matter of urgency, we must make sure the INEC chairperson and his or her staff are thoroughly vetted.
“The vetting exercise should yield dispassionate, non-partisan actors with impeccable reputations.
“Nigeria must ensure the appointment of new credible INEC leadership at the federal, state, local government, and municipal—city, town, and village levels—with short tenures—to prevent undesirable political influence and corruption and re-establish trust in the electoral systems by its citizens.
While accusing the INEC of deliberately sabotaging the process in 2023, Obasanjo said, “The BVAS and IReV are two technological innovations that, before 2023, were celebrated for their potential to enhance the accuracy and transparency of our election results, eliminate the threat of election rigging, and boost public trust in electoral outcomes.”
Reacting through a statement made available to journalists on Monday, the National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike accused the former president of laying the foundation for a flawed electoral system in the country.
Okwu claimed the ex-leader actively institutionalized corruption in Nigeria, further alleged that during the Obasanjo presidency, “results were announced even as voters were in queues voting across Nigeria. Results were written at government houses and politicians’ houses.”
The Ohanaeze youths added that “Go to Court was popularised under Obasanjo leadership, where all that mattered was for INEC to declare the president’s preferred candidate winner, and those crying were expected to go to court.
“Little wonder late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, a man with integrity, cried out that the election that brought him to power was deeply flawed. The said election was under Obasanjo’s presidency. “