•Chief Emeka Anyaoku
A former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Chief Emeka Anyaoku has warned that the international community will closely scrutinise Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, urging the authorities to ensure that the polls are credible and transparent.
Speaking as the Chairman of the 2026 Obafemi Awolowo Memorial Lecture held in Ikenne, Ogun State, the elder statesman said growing political attention on the next elections and the country’s worsening insecurity were among the major challenges facing Nigeria today, reports Saturday Independent.
Commenting on the 2027 polls, Anyaoku called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the government to ensure that the electoral process commands public confidence, particularly following the controversy surrounding the electronic transmission of results to the IREV portal in previous elections.
“The international community will be closely watching the political party campaigns, the processes and the actual conduct of the elections,” he said.
According to him, the credibility of the elections would be assessed beyond Nigeria’s borders.
“The results of the elections will be assessed for their fairness and credibility by other countries, including in particular those that have diplomatic representation in Nigeria,” he added.
On the issue of insecurity, Anyaoku said the Federal Government was justified in seeking international collaboration to tackle persistent kidnappings, killings and displacement of communities across several states.
After over a decade of inability to arrest the kidnappings, the abductions, the killings and the growing populations of people forcefully displaced from their ancestral lands and farms, the federal government is right to seek collaboration with friendly countries,” he said, while cautioning that such partnerships “should remain mindful of the need to respect the sovereignty of Nigeria.”
