Atedo Peterside describes INEC under Yakubu as ‘national disgrace’
Atedo Peterside, founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank and Anap Foundation, has criticised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under Mahmood Yakubu, its former chairman, describing it as a national disgrace.
Peterside made the comment on Monday during an interview on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television, while reacting to the appointment of Joash Amupitan as the new INEC chairman by President Bola Tinubu.
Amupitan officially took over the role on October 23 after being confirmed by the Senate, replacing Yakubu, whose tenure as INEC boss ended earlier in the month. Yakubu had served as Nigeria’s top electoral official since 2015, overseeing two general elections during his nearly 10-year tenure.
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When asked what he expects from the new INEC leadership, Peterside said he hopes for improvement but was blunt in his criticism of the commission’s past performance.
“I will never say never, but the INEC that was led by Mahmood Yakubu was a national disgrace,” Peterside said.
He accused the commission of mishandling election results and manipulating data uploaded on the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV). According to him, evidence of irregularities could be easily found on the portal.
“If you have time, I will take you there myself and show you result sheets they uploaded, mutilated, sometimes with figures changed, and in some cases, they even forget to change the words,” he added.
The respected banker and civic leader also took aim at the Nigerian judiciary, accusing it of failing to defend justice and transparency in electoral cases. He said the courts often appear to side with INEC or avoid addressing clear evidence of wrongdoing, which has further eroded public trust.
Peterside backed recent calls by Senator Seriake Dickson to amend the Electoral Act so that the burden of proof in election petitions would no longer fall on aggrieved candidates or parties but on INEC itself.
“This is where our judiciary has not lived up to the required standards,” Peterside said. “I agree with Senator Dickson that the burden of proof should shift to INEC. You can’t allow a situation where INEC can do anything, bring out rubbish results mutilated and everything and then argue that it’s for the victim to prove that what they’ve done is wrong, when even a blind man can see it.”
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He warned that if Nigerians continue to lose confidence in both the electoral commission and the courts, many might eventually resort to self-help in future elections – a development that could threaten the country’s democracy.
“Many Nigerians have already lost faith in INEC and the judiciary,” he said. “If we don’t fix this, people may stop believing that elections can bring change and may take matters into their own hands.”
