Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Birnin Kebbi, Prof. Auwalu H. Yadudu, has stated that Nigeria’s rising number of election petitions is largely due to politicians’ dissatisfaction with electoral outcomes rather than corruption among election officials or returning officers.
Speaking on ARISE TV on Wednesday, Yadudu reacted to comments by the new INEC chairman, who pledged to ensure elections are “won and lost at the polls.” While commending the intent, Yadudu noted that courts would always play a role whenever electoral procedures are violated.
“It’s not within the INEC chairman’s power to insist that elections are decided only at the polls. Courts come in when disputes arise from breaches of law,” he said.
He explained that courts act only when approached by aggrieved candidates. “They don’t decide elections on their own — their jurisdiction is invoked when disputes are presented before them.”
According to him, most petitions stem from candidates’ refusal to accept defeat, procedural violations during primaries, or irregularities in election conduct — not systemic corruption.
Yadudu acknowledged isolated cases of misconduct among election officials, citing the infamous Adamawa incident, but said such exceptions should not define the entire electoral system.
He also called for constitutional reforms to make election officials directly accountable to INEC’s national leadership and strengthen mechanisms against malpractice.
On vote-buying, Yadudu described voter inducement as “ridiculous” and called for better civic education to help voters act according to conscience, not material gifts.