The 2023 Vice Presidential Candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Bishop Isaac Idahosa, has called for stricter accountability measures against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for electoral misconduct.
Speaking on Channels Television’s “The Morning Brief” on Wednesday, Idahosa emphasized that the lack of consequences for electoral malpractices has enabled repeated failures in Nigeria’s electoral system. “When there’s no accountability for actions or inactions, these issues will continue to persist,” he stated.
The NNPP vice presidential candidate specifically addressed INEC’s implementation of the Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and Bimodal Voter Registration Systems (BVAS) during the 2023 elections. While INEC attributed the systems’ poor performance to technical issues, numerous politicians questioned their effectiveness throughout the electoral process.
Idahosa, who ran alongside former Kano governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, also highlighted concerns about the growing influence of money in politics and the concentration of power in individuals rather than institutions. He proposed conducting all elections – presidential, gubernatorial, and senatorial – on a single day to enhance transparency and reduce costs.
Addressing party matters, Idahosa confirmed his continued close relationship with Kwankwaso, who recently attended his 60th birthday celebration on February 8th. He dismissed reports of factions within the NNPP, stating that alleged dissenting groups had been expelled from the party.
In the 2023 presidential election, the NNPP ticket secured 1,496,687 votes, placing fourth behind winner Bola Tinubu of the APC, PDP’s Atiku Abubakar, and LP’s Peter Obi. Although the election results were contested up to the Supreme Court, the apex court ruled that IReV’s technical failures did not warrant nullifying the election outcome.
Seunmanuel Faleye is a brand and communications strategist. He is a covert writer and an overt creative head. He publishes Apple’s Bite International Magazine.
