Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate, has responded to Rotimi Amaechi’s allegation that a supporter of Bola Tinubu’s campaign recommended Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the Independent National Election Commission (INEC), be reappointed in 2020.
Speaking in Rivers State on election day, Amaechi pointed out that the INEC chief not only was re-appointed by Tinubu’s supporters, but he also collaborated with Governor Nyesom Wike while the latter served as Minister of State for Education and Interim Minister of Education under President Goodluck Jonathan.
“INEC is a complete failure. There are those of us who opposed the reappointment of Yakubu Mahmood. The person who nominated him is a member of Tinubu’s camp. So what are you expecting?
“Here in Rivers State, Mahmood worked under Wike as Executive Secretary of TETFund; so what you are having in Rivers is that APC and other parties are contesting, not against PDP, but against INEC, against police,” Amaechi said.
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Atiku’s Special Assistant on Public Media, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, responded in a statement on Sunday, saying Amaechi’s admission was a confirmation of our darkest suspicions that Yakubu’s INEC was working for the APC.
In addition, Yakubu proceeded to release the results in the face of objections from political parties because of the compromise made by the INEC chairman, according to Shaibu.
He claimed that when the tale of the Nigerian elections is recounted, Prof. Yakubu’s name will be brought up incorrectly.
Shaibu declared: “Former Governor Amaechi’s revelation is only a confirmation of what everyone always knew. That INEC under the leadership of Prof. Yakubu is inside the deepest corner of Bola Tinubu’s pocket.
“This is a confirmation of our earlier statement that Tinubu had already embarked on a systematic state capture where the police, INEC, and the judiciary are in his pocket. Is it not surprising that the AIG who was deployed in Rivers State to supervise the governorship and Presidential elections is Kayode Egbetokun, a known ally of Tinubu who also served as Tinubu’s Chief Security Officer while he was governor of Lagos?
“This unholy alliance between INEC and the police is the reason why the election in Rivers State remains one of the most rigged in the history of Nigeria. Indeed, the journey to state capture has begun.”
“This explains why, after promising Nigerians that he would upload election results from polling units, he changed his mind at the last minute and then blamed it on glitches. Truth be told, Yakubu was the only glitch because of his incestuous affair with Tinubu’s APC.
“His predecessor, Prof. Attahiru Jega conducted two credible presidential elections in 2011 and 2015. The 2015 election was so credible that it witnessed the lowest number of election petitions and court disputes.
“Rather than improve on this, Prof Yakubu put his personal interest far and above that of over 200 million Nigerians. He claimed before the election at Chatham House that the electoral system he put in place was so advanced that the human body odour could be used for voter accreditation if he wanted. But this was all part of his grand deception.
“Despite receiving higher allocations than any other INEC chairman in history, Prof Yakubu could not conduct a credible election. This is indeed shameful for a man who over 200 million Nigerians saw as their last hope.”
