Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Birnin Kebbi, Auwalu Yadudu, has said that the growing number of election disputes in Nigeria is caused by violations of electoral laws and politicians’ dissatisfaction with results, not deliberate manipulation by INEC officials or returning officers.
Yadudu said this during an interview with Arise News on Wednesday while reacting to recent comments by the new INEC chairman, Joash Amupitan, who promised to make sure elections are “won and lost at the polls” and to reduce the number of court cases after elections.
While he described Amupitan’s goal as a good one, he said the courts would always have a role in elections because disputes arise when due process is not followed.
“To me, it is not within his range to decide or even insist that elections are decided only at the polling units. Indeed, elections are decided at the ballot box,” he said.
Yadudu, a Professor of Constitutional Law, explained that increase in election petitions is not necessarily because of INEC or those managing elections, but because some candidates feel cheated and turn to the courts for justice.
According to him, courts do not get involved in elections on their own. They only act when candidates or parties bring cases before them to resolve issues based on the law which the constitution gives them the right to do so.
“Courts are not deciding disputes on their own. Their jurisdiction is invoked and disputes are discussed before them and cases met, and they have to rule on the basis of the law argued before them.
“Why decisions go to court is because politicians are uncomfortable. They are not agreeable to either the outcome of the primary election leading to the actual election or some rules and regulations, some steps, some procedures that are necessary to conduct an election are not followed,” he explained.
Yadudu also defended the role of vice-chancellors, professors, and retired officials who help conduct elections, saying they only read out results that have already been collated.
“They don’t cook up the numbers. They only read out what has been collated and make a declaration one way or another,” he said.
He admitted that there have been rare cases of misconduct among election commissioners but said such cases do not represent the entire system.
He referred to the 2023 Adamawa incident, saying, “I agree with you, there can be rogue election commissioners, as we have seen in the case of one in Adamawa State who went berserk and decided to declare without authority the winner of an election.”
Speaking on vote buying, Yadudu condemned the growing practice of inducing voters with money and gifts. He said that many voters accept money even when they know it is wrong, and urged for more voter education.
“You need to educate the electorate and have people who are principled, so that even when they are approached, they can allow their conscience to guide them,” he said.
To ensure greater accountability, Yadudu called for changes to the Constitution and Electoral Act to make election commissioners and officials directly answerable to the national electoral body.
According to him, such reforms would help prevent misconduct and strengthen control over election processes.
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