Chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC), Professor Humphrey Nwosu, has passed away.
By Emma Ogbuehi
Chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC), Professor Humphrey Nwosu, has passed away. Multiple sources indicated that he died in a hospital in the United States. He was 83 years old. An official statement regarding his death is yet to be released at press time.
His passage comes on the heels of death of three prominent politicians from the south east, Dr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Ohanaeze President, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, senator representing Anambra south in the National Assembly, Ifeanyi Ubah and erstwhile Abia State governor and former Minister for Science and Technology. None of the three has been buried.
Born on October 2, 1941, Nwosu was appointed NEC Chairman by then Military Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, serving from 1989 to 1993. During his tenure, he conducted Nigeria’s historic June 12, 1993 election, widely regarded as the freest and fairest in the country’s history. The election saw Chief Moshood Abiola as the presumed winner.
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Under Nwosu’s leadership, the commission introduced the innovative Option A4 voting system and the Open Ballot system, which significantly transformed the electoral process in Nigeria.
Despite announcing several election results, Nwosu was ultimately ordered by the Babangida regime to cease further announcements concerning the June 12 election. That action by Babngida threw the country into heavy political turmoil, leading to the former head of state being forced to step aside.
In doing so, he hurriedly put in a place an Interim National Government (ING), headed by late industrialist, Ernest Shonekan. The lame duck regime was sacked by General Sani Abacha on November 17, 1993. At Abacha’s death on June 8, 1998, General Abdulsalami Abubakar took over and unfolded a political transition programmed that birthed the current republic.
Nwosu has subsequently been rated the best electoral umpire in the country so far. In July 2024, the House of Representatives urged President Bola Tinubu to honour Nwosu for his instrumental role in conducting what is considered the most credible election in Nigeria’s post-independence history.
NEC is now known as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Before his appointment as NEC Chairman, Nwosu was a professor of political science at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He served in the cabinet of Air Commodore Samson Omeruah, military governor of the old Anambra State, where he helped traditional rulers to gain staffs of office, receive salaries and settled intra and inter community land disputes. He also served as chairman of a Federal Technical Committee on the application of Civil Service Reforms in the local government service. He was appointed NEC chairman in 1989 after his predecessor (and former mentor) Eme Awa resigned due to a disagreement with Ibrahim Babangida.
Nwosu’s legacy remains deeply intertwined with the June 12 election, which has since become a symbol of democratic struggle in Nigeria.