Former deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, has called on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to resign his appointment.
Frank, who is a close ally of the presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in a statement, said his call was based on credible information that the INEC chief attended a clandestine meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, where the appointment of Mrs. Amina Zakari as the Chairperson of INEC’s Presidential Election Collation Centre Committee was plotted.
He added that Nigerians have lost confidence in the INEC chief to conduct free, fair and credible elections this year, following the appointment of Mrs. Zakari, who is Buhari’s niece.
The appointment of Zakari has been condemned by well-meaning Nigerians, who view the move as largely as an attempt to influence this year’s presidential election in favour of the President.
Giving a graphic detail of how the alleged deal was sealed at a midnight secret meeting in the Presidential Villa, Frank claimed that Yakubu and Zakari were “smuggled” into the Villa about 12.30am on Thursday, after which Buhari, accompanied by few of his trusted aides, joined them inside the Glass House for the meeting that lasted for 45 minutes.
He disclosed that Yakubu arrived for the meeting in a black Peugeot 508 car, wearing a blue caftan, while Zakari came in a black Prado Jeep, wearing a jalabiya.
Claiming that Zakari clandestinely worked for the victory of the APC in the Edo, Ekiti and Osun governorship elections and other re-run elections that she supervised during the period, the former APC deputy spokesman maintained that the INEC chief no longer has the moral latitude to oversee the conduct of the poll.
Frank observed that even though Buhari benefitted from a free, fair and credible elections in 2015, he was not ready to advance the country’s democracy by sticking to free and fair elections this time, adding: “This is largely why he has refused to sign the amended Electoral Act 2010 and has now shopped for his niece to oversee the hatchet job of rigging him back to power.
“Buhari is running away from a free and fair election. He is depending on INEC and the security forces to allocate votes to him. That is why he refused to sign the amended Electoral Act.
“As a perpetual law breaker, he has again broken the law by refusing to allow the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to go on retirement after spending his ‘overly doctored 35 mandatory years’ in the service of the country as a police officer.”
He stated that Nigerians are hopeful that Buhari’s desperation would not set the country ablaze, post-elections, but lamented that “the way he (Buhari) is going, crisis will definitely engulf the country, because the opposition is determined not to accept any rigging or compromised electoral process during the next election.
The Bayelsa State-born political activist called on all patriotic Nigerians, including labour unions, traditional and religious leaders to speak up to avert Buhari’s rigging plot capable of plunging the country into a bitter and violent crisis.
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