The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Mahmud Yakubu

  • Election postponement: Resign for dereliction of duty, BMO tells INEC Boss

    The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has accused the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Mahmood Yakubu of allowing opposition elements to infiltrate the commission leading to what it described as dereliction of duty.

    The group in a statement in Abuja said the infiltration of the commission by opposition elements led to the tardiness that led to the postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly election in collusion with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and demand his immediate resignation.

    In a statement signed by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke the Buhari support group said it was disappointed that the INEC chairman betrayed the confidence of Nigerians and failed to carry out his assurance that the elections would hold.

    “The INEC chairman did not give indications of any problem before now and is known to have consistently said the commission was prepared and that was because President Muhammadu Buhari made sure that it got the required funding in spite of the delay in budget passage orchestrated by the leadership of the National Assembly

    “Because of Professor Yakubu’s assurances, we would have been right to assume that nothing short of an act of God would have prevented the election from holding but we are disappointed that he had the temerity to use the excuse of logistic challenge to defer the election by one week”, it said.

    The group recalled that it once drew attention to possible infiltration of the Commission by opposition elements through a former INEC chairman but it was not aware that the Commission did much to arrest the situation.

    It said: “Long before now, BMO raised the alarm on PDP’s recruitment of a former INEC chairman who presided over one of the worst elections in Nigeria’s recent history as a technical consultant.

    Read Also: INEC chairman speaks on postponement of polls

    “So if Professor Mahmud is blaming his inability to go ahead with the election on operational difficulties, then he should be looking inward at internal sabotage by INEC operatives who still owe allegiance to the former Commission chairman.

    “If indeed electoral materials were not stacked in CBN offices in states like was done for previous elections, what happened? And why would materials meant for some states be sent to other states?

    “The obvious sabotage could also be seen in the way members of the National Youth Service Corps who were recruited as adhoc electoral staffs were abandoned to their fate in many states of the federation.

    “So the question is-what happened to funds made available for the welfare of the corps members?”

    The group said: “it is absolutely ludicrous for Atiku Abubakar to hold the President responsible for this unacceptable act when it is clear that he and his party may now have the opportunity to cover about 15 states that he was unable to visit before last Thursday’s  deadline for political campaigns.

    “This is a President that did not use the immense powers that past presidents are known to have used to compromise the absolute independence INEC enjoys under him when the Commission removed the governing APC from the ballot for the governorship election in Rivers and Zamfara state.

    “The former President that recently accused President Buhari of tyranny would have gone on national television to give a counter-directive which no INEC chairman or court could have done anything about, but this President took the decision with equanimity and urged APC leaders to accept it in good faith

    “We also need to put it on record that the 2015 Presidential election was postponed at the discretion of the then governing PDP on security grounds, but this one was done by a commission that enjoys absolute independence at a time President Buhari and his deputy Professor Yemi Osinbajo are already on ground in Daura and Lagos respectively hoping to be at their polling centres as early as 8am to cast their ballot”

    BMO however urged supporters of President Buhari to not be deterred by the contrived postponement and turn up next week Saturday to show PDP and Atiku Abubakar that there is no vacancy in Aso Rock.

     

  • PDP Govs. decry alleged persecution by security agencies

    Governors elected on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have decried what they described as the politicization of the nation’s security agencies by the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government.

    Rising from an emergency meeting of the PDP Governors’ Forum held at the Ekiti State Governor’s Lodge, Abuja on Monday, the governors accused the security agencies of having become organs and tools of the federal government to harass and intimidate opposition and dissenting voices.

    In a communique issued after the meeting and signed by the Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, the governors also complained that security agencies were being used to perpetrate electoral fraud.

    They cited instances of such abuse in states like Ekiti, Osun and Rivers states. They urged the security agencies to be non-partisan in the performance of their duties in accordance with the provisions of the constitution.

    The communique read, “The Forum further condemned the flagrant violation of democratic ethos by operatives of this government as shown recently in the infamous act by the Police at the residence of Elder Statesman, Pa Edwin Clark, and the harassment of innocent Nigerians across the country on frivolous claims.

    Read Also: Sokoto PDP is united, focused -Tambuwal

    “The Forum noted the INEC needs to reinvent itself as a truly independent umpire of the electoral process in the country. For now, we have no confidence in INEC. The commission has conducted itself as a tool of the APC-led Federal Government, especially with the roles of the Chairman, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, and a National Commissioner, Mrs. Amina Zakari.

    “The Forum condemned the surreptitious, selective and suspicious payment of N16 billion purportedly from the Paris Club Refund. We are of the view that the money is to fund corrupt inducement of voters in the forthcoming Governorship election in Osun State on September 22, 2018.

    “The Forum resolved to have an all-inclusive meeting with all the presidential aspirants, with the National Chairman, two national officers of the party, and the leaders of the party in both chambers of the National Assembly in attendance”.

    The governors also condemned unequivocally, the refusal or failure of President Muhammadu Buhari to sign into law the amended Electoral Act.

    According to them, the action of the President was an indication that Buhari and his party were afraid of electronic voting or the introduction of technology into the electoral system.

  • ‘INEC suspends 205 staff over roles in 2015 elections’

    The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) has suspended 205 staff over various unwholesome roles in the 2015 general elections.

    INEC’s Chairman, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, disclosed this in his keynote address at national colloquium organised by the Independent Service Delivery Monitoring Group ( ISDMG ) on Tuesday in Abuja.

    He said that the interdiction, recommended by INEC’s Appointments, Promotion and Discipline Committee ( APDC ), was the highest so far.

    Mahmud said that constructive criticisms from the public had helped the commission to get better in delivering its mandate vis-a-vis conducting credible elections.

    He said that commission’s electoral officers were already in the field working towards the success of the 2019 elections.

    “We have to put the right people in place as electoral officers and assistant electoral officers for the 2019 general elections.

    “The credibility of an election depends on the credibility of the election manager; the credulity of the election manger depends on the credibility of the staff.

    “The APDC recommended the interdiction of 205 staff found culpable in various roles they played arising from the 2015 general elections—this is the highest number of interdictions since the history of the commission.

    “We have within the some of the most patriotic staff in the country; but anybody found wanting will be dealt with accordingly.’’

    He said that the introduction of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) had increased voter registration.

    The INEC boss listed the top states in CVR as Rivers, Anambra, Borno, Delta, Lagos, Cross-River, Osun, Enugu, Kano and Plateau.

    Mahmud said that the commission had conducted elections in 179 constituencies so far, adding that of only five had been challenged in court which attested to the credibility of the elections.

    He said that at present, INEC had received over 100 additional applications for new political parties, while nine had met the criteria.

    “We may end up having up to 80 political parties for the 2019 general elections,’’ he said.

    The INEC chairman gave an assurance that the 2019 elections would be better than that of 2015.

    Earlier in his speech, Dr Chima Amadi, the Executive Director, ISDMG, said that INEC had been the most responsive of all government agencies involved in the election value chain.

    He said that INEC had been taking advice and constructive criticisms and adjusting its activities to reflect same while such could not be said about others within the chain.

    “The security agencies continue to behave true to type and are even getting worse, while political gladiators horn their manipulative stock-in-trade.

    “However, we are resolved to take them to task with the same resilience that we used in getting INEC to act properly.

    “For the 2019 elections, the ISDMG will be deploying cutting edge technology to the field to ensure that history is properly documented,’’ he said.

    The highlight of the event was the unveiling of a book/report titled: “INEC Beyond 2015, Overview, Challenges and Prospects.’’

    The report was written by Amadi, Faith Nwadishi, MacDonald Ekemezie, Abdul Mahmud, James Ugochukwu and Atambi Ade.

    NAN

  • Alleged underage voting: INEC investigative committee arrives Kano

    Alleged underage voting: INEC investigative committee arrives Kano

     

    The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) has inaugurated an eight man committee had yesterday commenced investigations into the alleged cases of voting by under aged persons, during the last Local Government elections held in Kano.

    The investigative committee, chaired by Engr. Abubakar Nahuce was set up by the National chairman of INEC, professor Mahmud Yakubu, with the mandate to unravel if the voters register used during  the conduct of  the Kano Local Government election is  in tandem with the names of registered voters, on INEC’s record.

    According to Nahuce, the aim of the electoral commission is not to pass judgment on the conduct of the LG polls, rather to ascertain, if the voters registered used is that, which was obtained from INEC.

    The committee, which visited the headquarters of Kano Independent Electoral Commission, KANSIEC located on Sabo Bakin Zuwo road requested the state electoral body to furnish it, with the record of the  voters registration that was used  to conduct the LG elections, in the following areas,  Shahuci area, Kano Municipal Council registration area 21.

    The august body further requested KANSIEC to  avail it,  with the voters register used to conduct the poll, in Gama registration area 2, Nassarawa Local Government registration area 31, and Gezawa registration area 3.

    Nahuce disclosed that members of the committee had arrived Kano on Monday, adding that “ the committee  was tasked to ascertain, if the voter register requested by Kano Independent Electoral Commission, KANSIEC was actually that, which was used to conduct the Local Government Elections.

    “We are to investigate the widespread report that persons below the statutory age of 18 years voted  using INEC’s register. Engage with stakeholders on issues related to the use of the voters register in the election.” Nahuce further said.

    He disclosed that, the committee is directed to submit it’s findings, to INEC within the span of two weeks.

    The chairman, Kano state Independent Electoral Commission, KANSIEC, professor Garba Sheka in his remarks, said the commission will collaborate with the committee to ensure record success in its assignment.

    According to him, the allegations trailing the Local Government polls has assumed international dimension.

    He note that, the investigative committee  dispatched to the state by INEC will be allowed access to all relevant materials relating to the conduct of the election.

    Professor Sheka though cautioned that, the conduct and the findings of the committee will reflect on the forth coming  2019 General Elections.

    The committee composed by INEC , currently in Kano to conduct findings into the LG polls comprises of the following persons, Engineer Abubakar Nahuce, Chairman,  Barr. (Mrs) May Agbamuche Mbu,  Barr Mike Igini,  Barr. Kassim G. Geidam,  others are Yakubu M. Duku,  Rukayata Bummi,  Bello,  Paul Omokore,  and Jude Chikezie Okwuonu.

  • Guber poll: Arase, INEC chairman in Bayelsa

    Guber poll: Arase, INEC chairman in Bayelsa

    ... Promise rancor-free poll

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmud Yakubu and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Solomon Arase, on Tuesday said they were ready for Saturday’s governorship election in Bayelsa State.

    They duo were in Yenagoa, the state capital, to meet with stakeholders in the election and to address issues surrounding the poll.

    Yakubu and the IGP stopped briefly at the police command, Yenagoa, and left for a stakeholders’ meeting involving all the parties in the election at Otiotio area of the state capital.

    Speaking to journalists before leaving the command, the INEC boss said everything was set for the Saturday poll and urged voters to come out en masse to cast their votes.

    He said INEC had released about 52,000 voter cards generated from the last continuous voter registration exercise to the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for distribution to their owners.

    Yakubu said he was in the state to speak with the stakeholders and reassure them of the readiness of INEC to conduct a free, fair and credible election.

    He dismissed claims of federal might and said INEC would provide level playing field to all parties involved in the election.

    He said: “INEC is fully prepared. We have come to speak with the stakeholders. On November 10 all the parties and their candidates signed the peace accord. I am happy that they are abiding by the terms of the peace accord.

    “We have come to speak to them and to also reassure all Bayelsans that nobody but Bayelsa will elect a governor for Bayelsa State. They should come and cast their votes freely. The elections will be free and fair.

    “The election is two dimension, the responsibilities that INEC will discharge and the responsibility entirely for the police and that is why we have come with the chief internal officer of the country, the IGP to speak and assure Bayelsans that we will create enabling environment for free, fair and credible election.

    “All the PVCs for continuous voter registration had been transferred amounting to over 52,000. They have arrived Bayelsa and we have handed them over to the REC this morning. We will find the most effective means of distributing the PVCs.

    Also, speaking to journalists, Arase said the force is ready to ensure a violent-free poll, adding that the police remain apolitical.