A former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, has denied reports claiming that he said the 2023 general elections were compromised. He clarified his position in a statement on Monday, which was signed on his behalf by his Senior Research Assistant (SRA), Princess Hamman-Obels.
Jega said that the report was incorrect and did not accurately reflect his position. He was quoted as saying, “We have seen, in 2023 elections, the damaging effect of how people in the corridors of power get their client/partisan nominees appointed, without being thoroughly screened, and then they are influenced to compromise the integrity of elections.”
The former INEC boss was said to have made the statement at a two-day retreat organised by the Senate in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, last week. However, Jega categorically denied making this particular comment about the 2023 polls.
Hamman-Obels, who is also the Director of The Electoral Hub, an Initiative for Research, Innovation, and Advocacy in Development (IRIAD), said, “As would be seen in his presentation he made at the Senate Retreat held in Ikot Ipene, Akwa Ibom State, nowhere did he make such a statement that the 2023 elections were compromised.”