Report: Opposition demands INEC chairman’s Prosecution
Opposition parties have demanded the resignation of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, on the basis of the European Union Election Observer Mission report which gave INEC low marks in its conduct of the general elections.
The Labour Party and the Peoples Democratic Party said the EU report on the election confirmed their positions that the 2023 polls were not transparent or credible, but the INEC and the All Progressives Congress dismissed Yakubu’s indictment by the parties.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, the Director-General of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Akin Osuntokun, called for the immediate dismissal and prosecution of the INEC chairman over the role he played in the 2023 presidential elections.
Osuntokun also demanded that a forensic financial investigation should be conducted on all the expenditure and donations received by INEC before, during and after the polls.
Aligning itself with the LP, the PDP threw its weight behind the call for Yakubu’s suspension to the pave way for a forensic audit of the electoral body’s election expenses.
Also speaking with newsmen, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Ibrahim Abdullahi said the INEC boss should step aside for a more competent person to pilot the affairs of the agency.
In his reaction to the attack, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, advised the LP to desist from making ridiculous demands.
Recall that a Member of the European Parliament, the Chief Observer, Barry Andrews, who presented the preliminary findings of the EU EOM report in Abuja on June 28, observed that shortcomings in law and electoral administration hindered the conduct of well-run and inclusive elections and damaged trust in INEC.
He also noted that a lack of transparency and operational failures reduced trust in the process and challenged the right to vote.
CREDIT: Punch Newspaper
