On Wednesday, 8th of February 2023, INEC’s Official Twitter Account liked a post where Seun Kuti, the son of Late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, criticized the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi. 

Kuti described the LP flagbearer in the post as “an opportunist won’t deliver Nigeria.” Premium Times shared the post through their Official Twitter Handle, of which @inecnigeria liked the tweet.

This reaction by the independent body drew heavy criticism for approving a tweet disparaging the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi. However, INEC says they are investigating the action as they did not authorize a ‘like’ on Premium Times Twitter post.

Due to backlashes, INEC disliked the post. The Commission is created to be independent, with no affiliation with any presidential candidate, not even the president. If such a behaviour is allowed to thrive, it will endanger the credibility of the 2023 general election.

Twitter User’s Reactions After Inec Liked Anti-Peter Obi Post

Below are some tweets from citizens calling on the INEC to teach their handlers to remain independent so as not to cause havoc.

This tweet came in from a member of the ‘ObiDatti’ Presidential Campaign Council, FS Yusuf, “Dear @inecnigeria, why is your handler liking this tweet where Peter Obi is attacked? What is this nonsense? Are we a joke to the Commission? Don’t set this nation aflame. @inecnigeria, this is a warning! We need to sue INEC for this misbehaviour!” 

This tweet came in from a Twitter user identified as IDUH, “And INEC Nigeria liked the post? An independent body that is supposed to conduct a free and fair election? How did we get here as a country?” 

This tweet came in from a Twitter user identified as Miss Pearl, “Our greatest enemy in this election will most likely be INEC. I don’t believe they can conduct a free, fair, and credible election. They ain’t even hiding it, just look at this pettiness!!!” 

What Is INEC Doing to Make the 2023 General Election Transparent?

As the 2023 general election draws closer, the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC says that the 2023 general election will be peaceful and transparent. 

For the umpteenth time, the Chairman of the Commission, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu, stated in Abuja at the launch of the Centre of Humanitarian Dialogue’s paper titled “Post-Election Assessment of Conflict Management Mechanisms in Nigeria, 2019 and Beyond”.

He said strategic policies had been implemented to ensure openness and transparent elections. In his words, “the introduction of technologies in election result management is a huge recipe to reduce conflict in the election,” he said.

The innovation of the Biomedal Voter Accreditation System BVAS and the INEC Result Viewing Portal is one of the things the Commission has done to free the exercise from rigging.

Also, in the ceremony, the INEC Chairman made it known that the introduction of an inter-agency consultative committee on election security is in charge of the transparency of security agencies during elections.

Conclusion

The INEC has denied that it authorized the like on an anti-peter obi post earlier. However, the Commission has pleaded with the general public to remain calm and committed to ensuring its efforts are not affected.