INEC Chair Not To Blame For Rigging — Deji Adeleke

The President of Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State, and billionaire businessman, Deji Adeleke, has called on stakeholders to work together to make Nigeria’s electoral system more credible.

Adeleke, who is the elder brother of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, spoke on Sunday at the university’s 12th undergraduate and eighth postgraduate convocation ceremonies held in Ede.

He said no chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), regardless of competence, could single-handedly stop election rigging across the country.

According to him, some corps members deployed for election duties and police officers assigned to provide security during elections often collude with politicians and other actors to manipulate results at polling units.

Adeleke said violence and deaths during elections remain a major concern, noting that young Nigerians, including graduates who could later serve in institutions such as INEC, have been involved in altering election figures at polling units.

He argued that it would be unfair to place all blame on the INEC chairman when some youth corps members allegedly accept money to manipulate election results.

Using the forthcoming Osun State election as an example, Adeleke said the state has 3,763 polling units and it would be impossible for the INEC chairman to be physically present at all of them at the same time.

He added that the electoral process is entrusted to young Nigerians, including corps members, but some of them allegedly collect money and change figures at polling units. He also accused some police officers of aiding election malpractice.

Adeleke said the consequences of a compromised electoral process are serious for the country, warning that the international community may continue to view Nigeria negatively despite the talents and potential of its people.

He described the situation as painful and blamed ignorance of the implications of election malpractice and judicial misconduct for worsening the problem. He, however, said it was not too late for Nigeria to reform its electoral process and start afresh.

In his convocation address, the Vice-Chancellor of Adeleke University, Prof. Solomon Adebola, said the institution has continued to record steady growth since it was established in 2011.

He disclosed that the university admitted 1,554 students into various undergraduate and postgraduate programmes during the 2025/2026 academic session.

Adebola also announced that the National Universities Commission had approved the university to run Medicine (MBBS) and Pharmacy (Pharm.D) programmes, with admissions expected to begin in the 2026/2027 academic session.

He said a total of 1,375 students graduated from the College of Postgraduate Studies and six undergraduate faculties during the convocation.

According to the Vice-Chancellor, the best graduating undergraduate students were Ejiofor Onyinyechukwu Sonia of the Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Kinosi Victor Oluwagbemiga of the Department of Economics, both with a CGPA of 5.00.

He added that the best overall Master’s graduate was Olunlade Joshua Oluwafisayo in Mechanical Engineering with a Cumulative Weighted Average (CWA) of 80.02, while the best overall Ph.D graduate was Ukenyi Chibunna Godspower in Religious Studies (New Testament) with a CWA of 77.32.

Adebola urged the graduating students to see the completion of their studies as the beginning of a new phase in life and to face the future with courage.