Former Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mike Igini, has expressed deep regret over his decade-long service with the electoral body, describing his efforts to reform Nigeria’s electoral process as largely unfulfilled.
Igini made the remarks during an interview on Arise News, where he reflected on what he termed years of struggle to entrench credible and transparent elections in the country.
According to him, he devoted over three decades of his life to promoting electoral integrity, including ten active years within INEC, working to move Nigeria’s elections away from what he described as a history marked by frustration and pain.
“I spent over 30 years of my life, including 10 practical years in INEC, working to remove the history of our elections from the realm of frustration and pain, so we can give meaning and purpose to the ballot as the best means of expressing the will of the people in a democracy,” Igini stated.
He, however, lamented that recent developments have left him questioning the impact of those sacrifices.
“To now find out that all that we did was in vain, that’s why I regret that I wasted my 10 years in service of the fatherland. I could have been a dead man by now,” he said.
The former electoral commissioner also recalled the dangers faced by officials committed to upholding due process, citing the killing of a colleague in Kano who, he said, lost his life in the course of ensuring electoral transparency.
Igini expressed concern over proposed amendments to the Electoral Act, warning that certain provisions, if assented to by the President, could expose presiding officers to heightened risks and intimidation at polling units.
He criticised what he described as entrenched hypocrisy among political actors and stakeholders in the electoral system, noting that systemic challenges continue to undermine genuine reform efforts.
Despite his disappointment, Igini reaffirmed his commitment to the ideals of electoral integrity, stressing the urgent need to safeguard Nigeria’s democratic process and ensure that the ballot truly reflects the will of the people.
He called for stronger institutional protections and sincere commitment from all stakeholders to protect the sanctity of elections and restore public confidence in the nation’s democratic system.