Bode George, a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has cautioned Prof. Joash Amupitan, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), that Nigerians will no longer tolerate technological difficulties during elections.
George reportedly made the remark on Monday while making an appearance as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today show.
His comments coincide with the nation’s preparations for the general elections in 2027, when there are great hopes for increased electoral process credibility and transparency.
The senior statesman advised the incoming INEC chairman to make sure that the errors noted in the general elections of 2023 are not made again.
“Recall the previous election as well, when Buhari purchased the required equipment. How did we respond? George remarked, “They said there was a glitch.”
He insisted that the electoral umpire take steps to prevent any system failure and warned Amupitan against what he called deliberate mistakes that damaged the legitimacy of the previous general elections.
So let’s go back in time. There shouldn’t be a bug in this system, Mr. Amupitan,” George continued.
Just one month ago, Professor Joash Amupitan, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was urged by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) to promptly account for the ₦55.9 billion that was either missing or diverted from the purchase of smart card readers, ballot papers, result sheets, and other election materials for the 2019 general elections.
According to SERAP, the serious accusations are included in the Auditor-General’s most recent annual report, which was released on September 9, 2025.
Additionally, SERAP asked him to reveal the names of the contractors who allegedly raised more than ₦55.9 billion to buy smart card readers, ballot papers, result sheets, and other election materials for the 2019 general elections, along with information about the directors and shareholders and the contractors’ addresses.
He was urged by SERAP to secure the full recovery of corruption proceeds and to send these serious violations of international and constitutional standards to the proper anticorruption agencies for prosecution.
The organization stated in a letter dated December 6, 2025, written by Kolawole Oluwadare, deputy director of SERAP, that INEC must function without corruption in order to protect Nigerians’ right to participate in their own government.
According to SERAP, Nigerians’ right to take part in free, fair, transparent, and credible elections is directly threatened by claims of corruption in the distribution of smart card readers, ballot papers, result sheets, and other election materials.
