Speaking during an interview on Arise TV on Tuesday night, Amaechi praised former INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, for his role in ensuring a credible electoral process that allowed the then-opposition APC to emerge and eventually defeat the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 elections.

Former Rivers State governor and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has launched a scathing attack on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, claiming that the APC would not have been registered or secured victory in the 2015 general elections if Yakubu had been in charge at the time.

Speaking during an interview on Arise TV on Tuesday night, Amaechi praised former INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, for his role in ensuring a credible electoral process that allowed the then-opposition APC to emerge and eventually defeat the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 elections.

According to Amaechi, the transparent and fair approach adopted by Jega was instrumental in the APC’s political breakthrough.

 “The current chairman of INEC, if he was the chairman of INEC in 2015, we would not have won. That’s an important point. May God bless (Attahiru) Jega. Because the ground rules were clear. The current chairman of INEC can only be compared to Iwu,” he stated.

Drawing a sharp comparison between Jega and Yakubu, Amaechi alleged that the current INEC leadership exhibits signs of political bias and lacks the openness that characterised the 2015 electoral process. 

“When we were to register APC, Jega opened the door and we complied with the registration requirements. He got APC registered. The current man, if you comply with all these, he would not register you,” Amaechi said.

The former minister, who served in the Federal Executive Council under President Muhammadu Buhari, did not mince words in accusing INEC under Yakubu of undermining the democratic process. 

“Already, INEC is biased. So, the only thing I can tell you now is that, looking at the way Nigeria has run the election, even the Option A4 led us forward. At least a lot of transparency. You were sure of what was going on,” he said.

He added that electoral transparency has worsened since the days of Option A4, a voting system used during the June 12, 1993, presidential election regarded as one of Nigeria’s freest and fairest.

“Then we came back to meet people like Iwu and others and the current one, and things got worse. So, you don’t know whether to say we are progressing or we are regressing. There’s a state capture using the electoral institution as a machine,” Amaechi alleged, drawing attention to what he described as growing distrust in the electoral process.

His comments come amid ongoing public debate over the credibility of the 2023 general elections, which were widely criticized for logistical failures, delayed result transmission, and perceived irregularities. 

Despite INEC’s repeated assurances of impartiality, critics have questioned the commission’s handling of the elections and its use of technology, particularly the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.