PDP Berates INEC Chairman over Alleged False Claims

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Thursday berated the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, for claiming that INEC is the most improved service institution in the country, when in reality, it has become the most debased, degraded and corrupted institution, particularly with the rigging of the 2019 presidential election.

The PDP, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologondiyan said for making such reckless claims at a time Nigerians and the international community are in huge disappointment over the irregularities, violation of rules, alteration of results and outright rigging that characterised the last elections, Yakubu has further confirmed that the commission under his watch is decadent and compromised.

“It is indeed outrageous that while Nigerians are hurting over the subversion of their mandate, the INEC chairman, who ought to be apologising is rather insulting their sensibilities with his provocative claims.

“Prof. Yakubu cannot claim that INEC under his watch is the most improved service institution when all indices show that it performed far below the bar in the 2019 elections.

“How can anyone in good conscience make such spurious claims when the massive irregularities that defaced the 2019 elections is responsible for the unprecedented 766 election petitions across the country as against 297 petitions filed in the 2015 elections?

“It is indeed an unpardonable affront on the sensibility of Nigerians for Prof. Yakubu to claim that this INEC that has become notorious for compromised voters register, missing ballot papers, alteration of results and inconclusive elections, is the most improved service institution in the country”, the statement said.

According to the PDP, “is it not completely preposterous for Prof. Yakubu to claim that INEC is the only agency which has offices in all LGAs and whose staff work exceptionally hard when there are many more agencies with offices in all the LGAs that engage in very tedious national assignments, even with far less allocation than INEC.

“What would the INEC Chairman say about an agency like the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), which has offices in all the LGAs and yearly mobilises thousands of corps members across the country yet without incidences of inconclusive mobilisation or missing service materials?

“Furthermore, if INEC is the most improved institution and has nothing to hide as Prof. Yakubu claims, why is it afraid to allow an inspection or judicial audit of the sensitive materials and devices it used in the 2019 general election, including its server?”, the party said.

The party urged the INEC chairman to save the nation an unnecessary stress by admitting the obvious irregularities in the 2019 general election and that the commission he heads rigged the Presidential poll for the All Progressives Congress (APC).