INEC under Prof. Yakubu, threat to democracy-PDP

By Samuel Ogidan
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday took a swipe on the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu over the commission’s report that there is no underage voters in Kano state.
The party had in a statement on Sunday by its spokesman,Kola Ologbondiyan described the declaration by INEC Chairman, as a despicable act of cowardice and threat to the nation’s democracy.
The party said that by the declaration, it shows that INEC under Prof. Yakubu is caving in to pressure by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to manipulate processes leading to the 2019 general election.
PDP wondered how INEC under Yakubu could arrivedat such conclusion when the initial reports, even from INEC officials said there were underage voters in the Kano election.
The party said the INEC Chairman, in allowing the APC-led federal government to push him to make such false declaration, despite manifest documentary evidence in the public domain and even by INEC officials, has cast a huge doubt on the sincerity of INEC to conduct free, fair and credible elections, come 2019.
PDP said: “The commission has obliterated a huge part of its honour by denying what is obvious to all instead of taking urgent steps to clean up the register and correct all anomalies ahead of the 2019 general elections.”
The party explained that when Prof Yakubu set up his committee of handpicked INEC officials, instead of deploying stakeholders, comprising of political parties and credible NGOs, it immediately alerted of a grand design to use the panel to arrive at predetermined findings and cover the illegality for the APC, saying, “Today, we have been vindicated.
“We invite Nigerians and the international community to note the sequence of plots by INEC and the APC to hide the existence of underage voters in Kano and Katsina states.
“Nigerians will recall that when the issue first came to the fore, the APC mounted a staunch and unyielding defence for INEC, thus betraying their vested interests in the illegality.
“INEC, on its own part, issued an initial reaction confirming the existence of underage voting in the February 10, 2018 Kano council poll but attempted to shift the blame to the Kano state government which conducted that poll.
“When confronted with the fact that it was INEC and not Kano state that registered the minors and issued them with valid votersa�� card, the commission again tried to exonerate itself by claiming that its officials registered the minors following threats by the communities.
“In the face of these INEC’s embarrassing dances, how then did Prof. Yakubua��s committee arrive at its findings when even officials of INEC, including those who superintended over the registration of the minors, had already declared the reasons behind their action?
“The entire world is shocked at how INEC under Prof. Yakubu is caving in to pressure by APC to manipulate processes leading to the 2019 general election.
“In any case, we hope Prof. Yakubu understands that the APC is only setting him up against Nigerians but we caution that he should not allow himself to be used to throw our nation into chaos and confusion.
“He should therefore extricate himself by allowing a credible inquest that will sanitize the register in Kano, Katsina and other states as nothing short of that will be accepted by Nigeriansa��a��, it said.