The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) has condemned what it referred to as “misguided calls” by another Arewa coalition for the sacking of the national chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.
AYCF’s national President, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, on Friday told a press conference in Kaduna that the call for the sack of the INEC boss “is part of a smear campaign spearheaded by a group of rabble-rousers and attention-seekers masquerading as campaigners for electoral sanity and accountability in INEC.”
He 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. The Arewa Citizens for Good Governance did not bother to check how many spectacular achievements INEC made under Prof. Yakubu before their charade of spurious claims and allegations.
“There has never been a comparatively better strategy of Nigerian voter education efforts than the one launched by the leadership of the electoral umpire in recent years. The circumstance under which INEC has been effectively planning, coordinating and generally handling its operations is unprecedented, considering the financial difficulties currently facing Nigeria due to rampaging inflation.
“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 work so efficiently that even the party in power could lose in some instances.”
Shettima said further, “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. We urge Nigerians to ignore the ranting 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. 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 Commission can change that.”
