Elections Not Entirely Decided by Voters in Nigeria — Tambuwal

The Senator representing Sokoto South, Aminu Tambuwal, has said that elections in Nigeria are not completely decided by the electorate.

Tambuwal made the assertion on Monday while speaking as a guest on Prime Time, a programme on Arise Television.

The former Sokoto State governor said irregularities often occur at various stages of the electoral process, particularly during collation, leading to outcomes that do not accurately reflect the will of voters.

According to him, politicians exploit loopholes in the system, while some officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are compromised.

“It’s not completely decided by the electorates. I can say that without mincing words,” Tambuwal said.

He explained that manipulations can occur at different levels of the process, including polling units, wards, local governments, states and even at the national level.

“We know quite often that at collation levels, whether at the polling unit, ward, local government, state or national level, things happen that misrepresent what voters actually voted,” he said.

Tambuwal added that weaknesses in the system involving INEC, the courts and politicians contribute to the problem.

“The system is breaking away through INEC, the courts and the politicians because politicians try to find corners to cut. So wherever there is a loophole, politicians take advantage of it,” he stated.