By Fatima Saka
The Former Director General of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) and Anti-money Laundering Expert Prof. Abdullahi Shehu has called for far-reaching reforms to strengthen Nigeria’s electoral process, including the unbundling of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), independent appointment of its chairman, and the conduct of all elections in a single day.
Prof. Shehu made this called while interfacing with the newsmen at a public hearing on a Bill for an Act to Repeal the Electoral Act No. 13, 2022 and Enact the Electoral Act 2025 held on Monday in Abuja, the former GIABA boss disclosed that his team submitted ten key recommendations to the committee, aimed at deepening electoral integrity and promoting transparency.
He emphasized that the independence of INEC is crucial to credible elections, proposing a new appointment process for the INEC chairman similar to that used for judges, where the National Judicial Council (NJC) recommends candidates to the president for nomination and Senate approval.
“The current arrangement where the president, who is a major stakeholder, directly appoints the INEC chairman, is inappropriate,” he said. “We should adopt a process that insulates the electoral body from executive influence.”
He further recommended that INEC should be unbundled into three separate commissions, one to handle political party registration and audit, another to manage constituency delineation, and a third to enforce penalties for electoral offenses, in line with the Justice Muhammad Uwais Electoral Reform Committee Report.
On election timelines, he proposed that all elections be conducted in a single day to cut costs and minimize tension, adding that holding elections at least six months before the end of tenure would allow all disputes to be resolved before swearing-in.
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The expert also advocated for the introduction of independent candidacy, modeled after Ghana’s system, where aspirants must be nominated by individuals across all constituencies.
Other recommendations included stronger penalties for electoral offenders, tighter control of campaign financing and political party funding, and measures to make elections more inclusive and affordable for credible candidates.
He added by expressing confidence that if implemented, these reforms would strengthen Nigeria’s democracy and restore public trust in the electoral process.
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