Lack of Transparency Fuels Electoral Disputes in Nigeria — Don

A Professor of Communications at Baze University, Abiodun Adeniyi, has identified lack of transparency as the major reason elections in Nigeria are often marred by disputes.

Adeniyi made the assertion on Friday while speaking during an interview on Prime Time, a programme on Arise Television.

According to him, elections have remained the weakest link in Nigeria’s democratic journey, noting that persistent controversies surrounding polls undermine democratic growth and public confidence.

He said that although Nigeria has recorded 26 years of uninterrupted democratic rule, the credibility of elections remains a major concern.

“Obviously no one benefits because oftentimes, we celebrate the longevity and the fact that democracy has stayed for 26 years,” Adeniyi said.

“But the bane of our democracy is election and electioneering. It is always contested and always disputed because there is no transparency. We often find it difficult to conduct free, fair, credible and transparent elections.”

The university lecturer stressed that consolidating democracy in Nigeria requires collective efforts to ensure openness, credibility and integrity in the electoral process.

He identified the deployment of technology as a critical tool for improving electoral transparency and restoring public trust.

“To grow a democracy and make it much more imbued with integrity, we need to do everything possible to make elections open, transparent and credible, and one way to do this is by ramping up the use of technology in the process,” he said.

Adeniyi noted that citizens become worried whenever there are actions or communications that appear to undermine electoral transparency.

He added that recent comments attributed to the Senate raised concerns, which he said were later compounded by confusion over whether the issue stemmed from poor communication or misinterpretation.

“As we speak now, there is a bit of confusion,” he added.