From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Against the background of rumours making the rounds that INEC chairman may be sacked, a group, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) has warned against any attempt to sack the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The group blasted a group calling itself ‘Arewa Coalition’ for calling for the sack of the INEC boss, warning nothing should happen to the nation’s electoral body chairman.
AYCF’s National President, Alhaji Yerima Shettima while addressing a press conference in Kaduna on Friday, said “as a group of progressive-minded advocates, we totally disagree with the so-called Arewa Coalition calling for the sack of the INEC National Chairman.”
According to him, Nigeria should forget about the call by the so-called ‘Arewa Coalition’, describing them “mere attention seekers masquerading as campaigners for electoral sanity and accountability in INEC.”
Shettima added that as result of the improved innovation brought about by the current INEC boss and his team, any call for his sack, was unacceptable.
He urged Nigerians to ignore any group plotting the removal of the INEC chairman and allowed him to work as the 2023 general elections approaches.
Shettima said, “We have followed with keen interest an ongoing smear campaign and the call for the sack of INEC National Chairman by a group of rabble-rousers masquerading as campaigners for electoral sanity and accountability in INEC, when in fact they’re attention-seekers.
“As a group of progressive-minded advocates, we totally disagree with the so-called Arewa Coalition calling for the sack of the INEC National Chairman. Our reasons are as follows:-
“The Arewa Citizens for Good Governance did not bother to check how much spectacular achievements INEC under Prof. Yakubu before their charade of spurious claims and allegations.
“The revolution in election results collections, using the BVA and other electronic transmission devices is the first of its kind in Nigeria’s election history. The electoral umpire has proved its neutrality in elections since 2015, when even the current administration lost out in some elections. No manager of the electoral umpire has ever dared to let work so efficiently that even the party in power could lose in some instances.
“Professor Yakubu has built a name of transparency and accountability in the conduct of elections and efficiency in the choice of his team for all categories of elections over the years and we dare say he would sustain the tempo.”
He added, “We urge Nigerians to ignore the rantings of self-seeking, never-see-good groups seeking to distract a dedicated public servant like Prof Yakubu from sustaining the tempo of his wonderful contributions to deepening Nigeria’s democracy.
“We advise this group of attention-seekers to stop distracting the INEC Chairman with unsubstantiated allegations. Let the umpire boss be allowed to discharge his responsibilities with the same neutrality that he has been doing so for years.
“We are confident that the Professor is set to etch his name in gold, in the annals of Nigeria’s democratic history and no misguided attack on his person or the umpire can change that.”