Southern Middle Belt Leaders forum came under fire on Thursday for calling for the sack of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu.
The Independent Service Delivery Monitoring Group (ISDMG), on Thursday criticized the Southern Middle Belt Leaders forum for asking President Muhammadu Buhari to sack Yakubu over fear that he may rig the 2019 election for the ruling government.
Briefing newsmen on the development, Executive Director of ISDMG, Dr. Chima Amadi described the call by the elders as a move to undermine the integrity of the electoral process and diminish the democratic gains Nigeria has made since the return to civil rule in 1999.
Amadi said the same group of elders at the eve of the 2015 general elections called for the sack and arrest of the then INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega adding that: “they are doing the same as the 2019 general elections approach. It is their stock-in-trade on behalf of their sponsors. Nigeria has moved on. Those who still think that our problem is the electoral umpire should have a rethink. The train has left them at the station.”
His words: “While we don’t hold the fort for the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, we are compelled to respond by stating the facts as they are and exposing the hollow claims Of ethnic entrepreneurs, masquerading as leaders. For us, the Claim that there are “accumulated indications”, suggesting that the INEC Chairman will rig the 2019 elections in favour of President Muhammadu Buhari is not proper.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission as the Election Management Body is a creation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, by virtue of Section 153(1)(f) and its Chairman is appointed by the President, subject to the Senate, by virtue of Section 154(1) of the said Constitution. The qualification for appointment of the Chairman is set out in Section 14(1) Part 1 of the Third Schedule of the Constitution thus: ” a chairman, who shall be the Chief Electoral Commissioner, shall be personis] of unquestionable integrity and not less than fifty years of age”. Discerning the aforementioned provisions of the Constitution, it is crystal clear that the ethnic identity of whoever is appointed as Chairman does not serve as a bar, or a disqualifying ground. That Professor Mahmoud Yakubu is of “the same ethnic stock“ with the President doesn‘t make him any less qualified or incapable of discharging the electoral and constitutional functions and lawful duties of his office. The ethnic entrepreneurs are simply crying wolf where there is none.
“Truth is: the electoral reforms that our country has embarked an since 2007 make it virtually impossible for the Election Management Body to deliver elections to a sitting president without local, national and international repercussions. in 2015 we witnessed how difficult it was for a sitting president to steal elections, and 2019 will not be different if the opposition organizes its politics in a way that it elicits the support of the electorates.”
The group said that the task before all Nigerians today is to ensure that their participation in the processes leading to the 2019 polls and to ensure their voices are heard.