The Peoples Democratic Party has asked that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, retire for violation of the terms of the Election Act and suspected manipulation and change of the February 25 presidential election results.
The PDP also requested that the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of the Directorate of State Services promptly initiate investigations into the election breaches and manipulations by INEC to prosecute Yakubu and other INEC officials for electoral crimes.
The PDP stated this during a news conference held at its headquarters on Friday in Abuja.
It had been reported how INEC proclaimed the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, President-elect which the opposition PDP and Labour Party rejected amid charges of many election infractions.
Speaking at the press conference, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, further remarked that the party demanded the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to open an investigation into allegations that certain top officials of INEC were heavily compromised financially to manipulate the electoral process.
Ologunagba stated, “The PDP demands that the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, immediately stands down from office, having abused the trust and crushed the expectation of millions of Nigerians as well as political parties and the world community for a free, fair and credible election.
“His removal as chairman would be the first step towards sanitising the electoral commission and regaining the faith of Nigerians particularly as the country prepares for the rescheduled March 18, 2023, gubernatorial and state assembly elections.
“The PDP demands that the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of the Directorate of State Services immediately commence investigations into the electoral violations and manipulations by INEC with the view to prosecuting Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu and other officials of the commission for electoral offences.
“Along the same line, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission should launch an inquiry into accusations that some high officials of INEC were significantly compromised financially to distort the voting process.
The spokesperson of the party pointed out that the PDP had also reviewed the latest scheme by INEC to reconfigure the BVAS devices to deny Nigerians and political parties, especially the PDP and its candidate, access to relevant information required to prosecute their case at the Presidential Election Tribunal.
The spokesperson maintained that it was also obvious that the commission’s boss deliberately sabotaged the uploading and transmission of results directly from the polling units in favour of the APC “as now abundantly exposed in the pictorial and video evidence of compromised results sheets in many parts of the country.
He wondered why the INEC chairman “rushed” to announce and declare alleged manipulated results that were not transmitted directly from the polling units to INEC’s server/website and ignored the objections and complaints raised during the collation of results in deliberate violation of the provisions of Section 64 (4) (a) and (b), 64 (6) (a)-(d), and 65 (1) (c) of the Electoral Act. 2022.
He added, “For emphasis, while Section 64 (4) (a) and (b) expressly require the INEC Chairman as the Chief Returning Officer to announce only results that were transmitted directly from the polling units, Sections 64 (6) (a)-(d) and 65 (1) (c) compel INEC, in the case of disputes, complaints or objections regarding a collated result or the result of an election from any polling unit, to take steps including the review of collation where they are made contrary to the provisions of the law, regulations, guidelines and manual issued for the election.
The image maker also observed that by violating these provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022, as well as INEC’s regulations, guidelines and manual for the election, Yakubu is not only culpable of serious electoral offence but also “betrayed, thrashed and threw overboard the trust,” confidence and hope Nigerians reposed in him and the electoral commission to deliver a free, fair and credible election in the country.
Going further he added that Yakubu’s presence in the office was capable of opening the way for the concealment, manipulation and destruction of vital material necessary to further expose the infractions and breaches by the commission before the Presidential Election Tribunal.
He noted that the PDP acknowledges the findings of several foreign organisations in condemnation of acts by the leadership of INEC in undermining democracy in the conduct of the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections.
The party, while urging Nigerians to remain calm but very alert as the party continues to take steps to retrieve its mandate at the Presidential Election Tribunal, also urged the international community to immediately impose sanctions including travel restrictions on the INEC chairman and other top officials of the commission for their roles in “compromising democracy” in Nigeria
