Ireti Kingibe Alleges Electoral Act Manipulation, Says Original Reform Document Was Altered
Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ireti Kingibe, has raised serious concerns over the integrity of the Electoral Act, stating that the document has been fundamentally altered from its original form.
Kingibe made this disclosure on Monday during an appearance on Arise Television’s Prime Time, where she questioned the authenticity of key provisions currently reflected in the Act.
The lawmaker, who served on the Committee for Electoral Reforms, explained that several components in the present version were never part of the draft extensively worked on by stakeholders.
She said, “What they presented was not in the original one. I spoke to somebody about it. I said, I can show you the documents I have.”
Kingibe further highlighted discrepancies relating to electoral safeguards, particularly the absence of security features on ballot papers, which she described as unprecedented in Nigeria’s electoral history.
“In what election have we ever conducted, where INEC ballot papers did not have security measures that you can bring any type of ballot paper vote with it. It’s never happened. And so when somebody was mentioning to me, I said no, I didn’t see that part. It couldn’t have been there,” she stated.
She reiterated her direct involvement in the reform process, emphasizing that the committee spent two years developing a comprehensive framework designed to ensure credible elections.
“I was on the committee for the electoral reforms. Two years we worked on a document that was acceptable, and we did bi-camera sitting,” she added.
According to Kingibe, the reform effort was a collaborative process involving both chambers of the National Assembly, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and civil society organisations.
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“So it was not just the Senate; the Senate and the House of Representatives sat, as well as with INEC and some CSOs and came up with a document that we felt would give us free and fair election. We brought it and every aspect of it was turned upside down.”
Her remarks have intensified ongoing debates around electoral transparency, legislative integrity, and the credibility of Nigeria’s democratic processes, with stakeholders now demanding clarity on the alleged alterations to the Electoral Act.
