The labour Party on Thursday unequivocally demanded the immediate dismissal from office and prosecution of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof Mahmood Yakubu for purportedly superitending over the worst election in the history of Nigeria on February 25th, 2023.
The party also demanded immediate Forensic financial investigation into the expenditure of budgeted disbursements and donors funds received by INEC that includes the N300b appropriated from the national purse as well as other funds and materials, received from International Donor agencies.
The Director General of the Obi Datti Campaign Organization Balogun Akin Osuntokun spoke while addressing a Press conference orgarnised in conjuction with the Labour Party in Abuja on Thursday.
“If you go to equity, you go with a clean hand, INEC and the security Agencies have already taken steps to prosecute the REC of Adamawa.
“As far as we are concerned what the REC of Adamawa did is like what Yakubu did at the National level, so if that is the case we are also thinking that Yakubu should be prosecuted and even dismissed.
When reminded that his position as chairman of INEC is constitutionally and legally protected and it is only the President with concurrence from the National Assembly that can remove him, he said,
“So also the position of a CBN governor, it is constitutionally guaranteed that is why he called it suspension, same attitude
Ideally somebody who has commited the abuse of office, INEC Chairman has committed should resign which means that of CBN and EFCC remain a selective one.
He said since there have been severe condemnation from all the observer groups and even majority of Nigerians against INEC in all facets, is it not a contradiction to expect that an agency that stands condemned will produce an honest result?
“This is a big preponderance of contradiction for us to establish, that INEC is guilty as charged which will discredit the results from the compromised agency.
“The efforts being made by the authorities in Abuja that is an escapist madness in trying to say they want to discipline when they are the father of all the wrong doings.
“There is nothing that the REC man in Adamawa has done that this INEC in Abuja has not done ten times worse, so physician heal thyself. You are pointing at a spec in somebody’s eyes and forgetting the log in your own eyes.
“We as a party we are partisan so we have our reservation and criticisms but what about objectively Independent organizations both in Nigeria and outside Coming to a concensus that this INEC is not credible.
“If INEC is not credible how can we expect results emanating from that same group to be credible?
“At the very minimum if Yakubu has any shame he would have resigned but if the president has the political will there are ways of going round at it, he can be suspended from office just like what he has done to the CBN governor.
“What is required is the political will to do the right thing but being the beneficiary of INEC’s mischief I don’t expect that but we have precedence if he wants to be honest.
“Remember the late President Umaru yaradua who openly admitted that the election that brought him was flawed, he went ahead to set up Electoral reform committee under Justice Muhammed Uwais to move Nigeria towards objective of achieving credibility in election management
“Goodluck Jonathan did a similar thing Remember that he did not even wait for the election to be concluded before doing what is done in established and advanced democracy and that was to save the country from trauma by Congratulating Former apresident Buhari.
“Remember the conduct of this same APC people they went as far as calling for the formation of a parallel government. So you can see the contrast with what we have today and what we had then.
“More importantly is that a lot of the problems in Nigeria is impunity, people will do wrong, commit grievous offense without any sanction. If this INEC and its chairman are not sanctioned, what will be the disincentive for future chairman of INEC not to do the wrong thing after all nothing will happen to him.
On whether he still believes in the judiciary, he said, “We have faith in the judiciary but not a blind faith. In terms of proving our own case I think we have done beyond reasonable doubt to categorically prove, there is sufficient overwhelming evidence for us to expect justice.
“You know it is ironical, tragic that the INEC again has come up with argument against believing BIVAS, their argument they want to smuggle in is that the law permits them at one stage or the other to do things manually.
“So you then ask what was the purpose of the h undreds of billions expended on this technology if you same INEC their argument is contrived malfunctioning.
“It is fair to say, that so many of our national problems have gotten worse, because we as a people, have not adequately risen to the challenge of effecting the right solutions, when they ecur, to put them permanently in check.
“Given the extent of fraud, impunity, conspiracy, deceit, financial waste and democratic impediment, orchestrated and effected in the 2023 elections, and the increased interest, awareness and participation of our people in partnering practically, to bring genuine change to our country this time.
“It is imperative, that we as a people, do not again fall to the complacent hopelessness, that has aided recurrence and deterioration, but that we pursue the required rectification and legal correction required, to ensure that the will of the people, as expressed in the 2023 elections, are firmly and rightly, upheld.
“While it is often said that government is a continuum, and the administrative formalities following the bizarre declarations by INEC, have been put in place, the election, today remains under legal contest, and cannot be concluded, until the legal processes have been rightly and judiciously exhausted.
According to him, the 2023 elections, represent a significant and overwhelming watershed in our country’s electoral, political and development history.
He added that this time, the entire nation and the international community also, stand determined to ensure, that electoral fraud and the manipulation of the true will if the people will not stand as the foundation for bad governance in the past had been concretised by the acceptance of such illegality
Osuntokun commended the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room, the United States National Democratic Institute (NDI) – & International Republican Institute (IRI) Joint International Election Observer Mission, The European Union Election Observer Mission , Commonwealth Observer Group, The African Union AU, ECOWAS and all other regional and local Observers.
“Their doggedness in field engagement, despite the onslaught of violence, inducement, manipulation and all manner of evil, as witnessed in the elections, will serve not only as an unbiased record of the tragic events, but as motivation for its logical conclusion and inevitable resolution, according to the will of the people.
“In critically and broadly examining the independent reports of the various Observer missions, the consistency in their experiences and exposition, cannot be overlooked, as each and every Observer group, underlined the fact, that the elections fell short of citizens expectations, legal regulations and moral and international standards.
The Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room, the umbrella group for the majority of national NGOs involved in monitoring the elections, described the elections, in its comprehensive report, and I quote, as ‘a missed oppurtunity In Nigeria’s democratic development’..
“They further reported, that ‘credibility of the 2023 election was greatly tarnished by numerous pitfalls.
“The election suffered several lingering deficiencies In election administration, including inefficient management of permanent voters cards (PVCs) distribution, failure of operational and logistical arrangements, malfunctioning of election technology, inefficient handling of results management procedures, lack of transparent results collation and declaration process, and poor crisis communication.”