2023: Why INEC Chairman Should Resign — Arewa Group

The Arewa Citizens’ Watch for Good Governance (ACWGG) has called for the resignation of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu.

The group says Yakubu and his team should step down so that an independent probe into allegations of foreigners’ names in the voters register can commence.

In a statement issued on Sunday, ACWGG Chairman Hon. Mohammed Grema Adamu stated that it was no longer news that the processes leading to the conduct of the 2023 general elections are in top gear.

He added that the group is worried the electoral body has been compromised.

"We are however worried that the election umpires are morally compromised to deliver on that onerous task, that holds the key to our national unity and prosperity.

"As some of you may be aware, on 15th of September, 2022 one Ikenga Ugochinyere Michael addressed a world press titled 'Omuma Magic' wherein he alleged that 15,000 Foreign names were registered in the rural village of the Governor of Imo State, Sen. Hope Uzodinma.

"This criminal electoral treason was carried out in over 18 states that will help generate 10 million fake votes using preloaded fake accreditation.

"Surprisingly, rather than calling for the heads of those with the mandate to register and keep such important data in their custody, Mr Ikenga somersaulted and attributed it to the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

"On 12th October 2022. Mr Ikenga alongside his hallelujah boys organized another press conference under the guise of CUPP, CSO and Coalition of Ethnic Nationalities which was aired live on Channels, Arise and AIT TV Stations, wherein he alleged that political parties and opposition leaders have uncovered plots and pressure on INEC to deactivate BVAS from their server and force top INEC officials and the chairman out of office.

“Luckily, in Ikenga’s newly invented somersaulting dance steps, he acknowledged that the introduction of BVAS in the Osun, Anambra and Ekiti elections has been able to improve the credibility of the elections, as perennial problems associated with snatching of result sheets and changing of results at collation centres has been solved.

“Ikenga and his co-travellers failed to acknowledge and commend the APC-dominated National Assembly for legalizing the electronic transmission of results and also President Muhammadu Buhari, who has been giving INEC all the needed support to enable them to deliver a credible election.

“While it is not in our place to speak for the government on this allegation, we have noted with great dismay the unholy silence from the INEC Chairman and his team.

"We have no other option than to believe that after Ikenga’s first allegation of treason, they must have reached out to him and furnished him with the baseless and unfounded allegation of pressure to compromise the 2023 General Elections.

“As a group, we made frantic efforts to get INEC to extend registration in our region following the shutdown of telecommunications networks to enable our armed forces to carry out a special operation in most Northwestern and North Central states, which fell on rocky grounds.

"The unfolding event is a pointer to one fact: INEC is deliberately working against Arewa in their satanic ploy to suppress votes from our region, and swell that of Southern Nigeria through the registration of ghosts and foreigners.

“On the strength of the foregoing, we wish to make the following demands: That the bulk stops on the INEC Chairman’s office, hence, the weighty allegation of 'Criminal Electoral Treason' levelled against him by Mr Ikenga and his co-travellers must not be swept aside.

"Therefore, relevant government agencies must arrest and prosecute Prof Mahmood Yakubu for trying to use his office to effect leadership change in our country in a satanic manner.

“That Prof. Yakubu and members of his team should humbly resign so as to enable an independent probe into allegations of insertion of foreigners' names in our voters register.

"That Mr Ikenga should stop blowing hot and cold at the same.

"He can’t accuse INEC of adulterating the voters register and coming again to cry wolf that INEC officials are under pressure to resign.

“We hereby pass a vote of confidence on President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration's commitment to delivering credible elections come 2023 as he has done in other states during the off-season election.

"Where Prof Mahmood fails to resign, we will be forced to petition President Muhammadu Buhari, the Honourable Minister of Justice, the National Assembly, the US Embassy, the European Union, the British High Commission and other key actors in the electoral process on the danger of retaining the seeming compromised Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

“At the instance where we feel our demands are not being treated with needed gloves, we shall be forced to come out in our numbers and occupy all INEC offices in the region, including the National Headquarters", the statement reads.