Member of the National Assembly Technical Committee on Electoral Reforms, Bukola Idowu.

Founder of the Kimpact Development Initiative and member of the National Assembly Technical Committee on Electoral Reforms, Bukola Idowu, has expressed strong views on the future of Nigeria’s electoral system. Speaking on the current affairs programme Frontline on Eagle 102.5 FM, Idowu addressed a wide range of reform proposals, focusing on local government elections, independent candidacy, diaspora voting, continuous voter registration, and INEC’s operational capacity.

Opening the discussion with the cost of elections, Idowu criticised proposals to establish a separate electoral commission for local government elections. “Imagine you want to conduct elections for president, state government, and national assembly. INEC’s 2020 budget was over ₦400 billion. If a local government electoral commission is also created, we could be spending close to ₦1 trillion on elections in one year. That’s outrageous,” he said.

He warned that duplicating electoral bodies would stretch national resources thin and complicate logistics. “You’ll deploy observers and police and shut down the country multiple times in a year. Why not consolidate responsibilities under INEC and distribute certain functions to other capable agencies?” he added.

This concern about efficiency flowed into Idowu’s stance on independent candidacy. While often proposed as a democratic improvement, he argued Nigeria is not structurally ready for it. “I don’t think we are ripe for independent candidates. Most political parties in Nigeria lack strong ideological or structural foundations. Voters often cast ballots for the personality, not the party. Peter Obi’s 2023 campaign is a case in point,” he said.

Idowu cautioned that increasing the number of candidates without strengthening political structures leads to voter confusion and invalid ballots. “We had 1.9 million invalid votes during the 2019 election due to a long ballot paper with 73 candidates. Today, INEC has received 110 new applications to register political parties. If each fields a presidential candidate, we’ll need booklets instead of ballot papers,” he explained.

From independent candidacy, the conversation transitioned naturally to diaspora voting. Idowu expressed reservations about its implementation, given Nigeria’s current administrative and technological limitations. “Most people assume diaspora voting means just the UK, U.S., or Canada. But Nigerians live everywhere – Ghana, Sierra Leone, South Africa. Do we even have the infrastructure? Are they going to vote at embassies controlled by politically appointed ambassadors?” he asked.

“Let’s perfect our voter database, eliminate electoral violence, and build trust in the system before expanding overseas,” he asserted, calling for internal reforms before any expansion.

Central to those internal reforms is the continuous voter registration process. Idowu criticised INEC for treating it as a sporadic event rather than a constitutional obligation. “The law says continuous voter registration. But INEC sets dates, makes it ceremonial, and creates special budgets. Young people are discouraged by the cumbersome process—seven steps from online registration to casting a vote,” he said.

He recommended a more streamlined and collaborative approach. “Let NIMC handle registration. With a national ID showing you’re 18, you should be eligible to vote without needing a separate PVC,” he suggested.

As part of his systemic critique, Idowu also weighed in on the handling of by-elections, supporting calls for political parties to fill vacancies instead of holding expensive reruns. “The constitution recognises parties, not candidates. When a seat is vacated, it should be the party’s responsibility to nominate a replacement,” he said.

This discussion tied closely with his remarks on the proliferation of political parties, many of which, he argued, serve no functional purpose. “We have beach parties, AAC, and many others that win no seats. Only five parties are active in the National Assembly. We should have criteria—such as winning seats at state levels—before a party can present a presidential candidate,” he said.

In conclusion, Idowu stressed the need to build electoral reforms on solid groundwork. “If we build on a faulty foundation, it will collapse. Let’s get the basics right first—clean up the voter register, simplify processes, and build public trust,” he urged.

As the 2027 general election approaches, his insights underscore the urgency of reforming Nigeria’s electoral processes thoughtfully and systematically.