By Williams Adesoji
Abuja, Nigeria – Prominent Nigerian social critic, human rights and pro-democracy activist, Comrade Igbotako Nowinta, has declared that the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has overstayed his welcome at the headquarters of the body in Abuja.
Comrade Igbotako Nowinta, Executive Director, Nigeria Good Governance Research Centre (NGGRC), who doubles as international conflict resolution expert, made the assertion in a press release titled: Nigerians Have Lost Confidence In Prof. Yakubu: INEC Must Be Reorganized Immediately,” in Abuja on Sunday.
The social critic said Nigerians are sick and tired of Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu; he has repeatedly failed woefully to deliver transparent, free and fair elections to the satisfaction of the mass of the Nigerian people.
According to Comrade Nowinta: “It is clear to us that the body language and utterances of the Chairman of INEC showed that he is not in a hurry to vacate his position, and everything points to the fact that those accursed enemies of Nigerian people using him to the tilt, are even ready to foist him on us come 2027 Presidential Elections. This we must resist by all means necessary”
It would be recalled that Prof. Mahmood Yakubu presided over a stakeholders meeting held at the INEC headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday January 22nd, 2025, where he said amongst other things that: “Over the last nine years since 2016, the present Commission has been advocating for a more cost-effective alternative means of filling vacancies as is the case in many jurisdictions around the world. We have similarly been appealing to stakeholders, including political parties, to join the advocacy and for the National Assembly to amend the law accordingly”.
Here is the full text of the press release:
“Recently, precisely on January 22nd, 2025, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC), held a stakeholders meeting at its headquarters in Abuja. Having carefully digested the content of the speech he delivered at the event, It is clear to us that the body language and utterances of the Chairman of INEC showed that he is not in a hurry to vacate his position, and everything points to the fact that those accursed enemies of Nigerian people, using him to the tilt, are even ready to foist him on us come 2027 Presidential Elections. This we must resist by all means necessary.”
“Given the ugly antecedents of Prof. Yakubu, especially his very dismay performance during the 2023 Presidential Elections, and the recently massively rigged Governorship elections held in Edo State in September, 2024, we at Nigeria Good Governance Research Centre (NGGRC), cannot pretend that everything is cool and normal with the stewardship of this man”.
“As Nigerian masses continue to reel hopelessly from the destabilizing and devastating effect of the crash of the Naira, how long are we going to allow extreme political lunatics and criminals to repeatedly violate democratic decency and neglect the principles of co-existence”.
“INEC under Prof. Yakubu has introduced and created a terrible fence against the wish and aspirations of Nigerian electorates, even as global audience is watching this deceitful, degrading and hypocritical scenario called electoral process in Nigeria. We are now endangered species in the name of systemic stark diabolic manipulation of election results”
“Flowing from the recent meeting Prof. Yakubu had with stakeholders on January 22nd, 2025, at the headquarters of INEC in Abuja, it is crystal clear that this man is being groomed tenaciously to stay in the saddle till the Presidential elections in 2027. Nigerians are sick and tired of Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu; he has repeatedly failed woefully to deliver transparent, free and fair elections to the satisfaction of the mass of the Nigerian people”.
“As Nigerians we must stand up and resist this current fragile and rampaging democratic system being imposed by the President Bola Tinubu government on us all; what we have on our hands is one of the greatest orchestrated injustices against the ordinary people of the black race. Those who have violated the laid down rules guiding our electioneering process with demonic impunity must be confronted and told the truth”
“This is calling on patriotic members of the National Assembly to bring unequal commitment to this struggle, by immediately initiating a bill to amend our electoral law; to bring drastic clauses that will no longer make the President of Nigeria to have a hand in who chair INEC; who appoints commissioners for INEC, and enable comprehensive digitalization of the election process, etc.”
“Mahmoud Yakubu has over stayed his welcome at INEC headquarters, he is now a pall of smoke hanging on the electoral firmament of Nigeria. The unshakeable truth is that Nigerians need a brand new electoral bill to accelerate the review of the laws guiding the appointment of INEC Chairman and other vital issues relating to the transparent management of elections in Nigeria”.
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