Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, the former Chairman of the National Election Commission (now known as the Independent National Electoral Commission), has died.
He reportedly passed away in a hospital in Virginia, USA, in the early hours of Thursday, October 24, 2024. Born on October 2, 1941, he was 83 years old and hailed from the Ajali community in Anambra State.
Nwosu served as chairman of the NEC from 1989 to 1993 and oversaw the June 12, 1993 election, which is widely regarded as Nigeria’s most free and fair election. In that landmark election, Chief Moshood Abiola of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) defeated Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRC). However, the election was later annulled by former military president Ibrahim Babangida.
During his tenure, Nwosu introduced several important innovations to Nigeria’s electoral process, including the Option A4 voting system and the Open Ballot system, both of which garnered international acclaim.
