About us

Our Background

Since 1960, Nigeria’s electoral management body (EMB) has been reconstituted several times and given various names such as Federal Electoral Commission (FEC), Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO), National Electoral Commission (NEC), National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON), and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). In addition to the national EMB, there are also state EMBs, known as State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), in each of the 36 states in Nigeria. This means that there are 37 election management bodies in Nigeria.
These various EMBs have had Chairs, National and SIEC Commissioners, and Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) who have gained a wealth of experience and expertise in the course of their activities. What is more, some of these staff have served up to the maximum of two terms, making a total of ten years of electoral experience and knowledge acquisition. This provides a large pool of resource persons whose electoral knowledge and experience should be utilised to improve the integrity and credibility of the electoral process in Nigeria and Africa at large.
In line with the goal of The Electoral Hub to enhance knowledge and provide solutions to improve integrity, accountability, and credibility of the electoral process, that the Electoral Forum was established under the chairmanship of Professor Adebayo Olukoshi. Professor Olukoshi is a Distinguished Professor at the Wits School of Governance, Wits University. He was the immediate Director for Africa and West Asia at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). He has decades of experience in international relations, governance and human rights, having served in various organisations, including the UN African Institute for Economic Development and Planning, the Africa Governance Institute, the Council for Development of Social Science Research in Africa, the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, the Nordic Africa Institute in Uppsala, and the South Centre in Geneva.
He is joined by other notable, experienced and high profile practitioners including a former chairman of INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, OFR, Hajia Amina Zakari, Professor Anthonia Taye Simbine, Professor Olatunde Babawale, Mr. E.A. Johnson, Mr. Lawal Wase, Mr. Okey Ndeche, Mrs. Ikwunma Halliday, Hajia Rahma Abdullahi, Ms. Lois Auta, Mr. Mike Asukwo, and Dr. Kole Shettima.
The Forum brings together resource persons from EMBs together with other electoral stakeholders to conceptualise solutions to the unique problems facing the electoral process in Nigeria by addressing both the supply (EMBs) and demand (CSOs etc.) sides of electoral services. By facilitating discussions among different stakeholders, we hope to deepen understanding of the electoral process in Nigeria, as well as provide solutions to improve electoral integrity and credibility.