A pro-democracy group, Committee for Democracy and Right of the People (CDRP) has called for the immediate sack of the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Yakubu Mahmud.
Speaking with our reporter, the acting national coordinator of the group, Comrade Waheed Saka said the INEC chair should be removed for lack of competence to deliver credible polls in Kogi and Bayelsa Gubernatorial elections.
“Prof. Mahmud first test in Kogi as INEC supremo was messed up and the litigations that will emanates from the aftermath of Kogi will be unprecedented in Nigeria electoral History.
Moreover, The Bayelsa inconclusive election further shows that Prof. Mahmud is unprepared to take the commission to greater height after the heroic of Prof. Attahiru Jega led INEC, and his incompetence may take us a step backward to 1999 electoral process characterized by Killings, maiming and ballot snatching,” he said.
Speaking further, he said “the reported late deployment of personnel and Materials to various polling units across Bayelsa State in addition to failure of card reader machines to authenticate fingerprints of voters couple with failure of Prof. Mahmud to synergise with security agencies even as some areas in Bayelsa state had been previously identified as high risk areas is enough grounds that aided the inconclusiveness of the election in Bayelsa.
” Prof. Mahmud started the reign as INEC chairman with a badly managed, indecisive and grossly incompetent approach to electoral management in Kogi, and he followed it with a nerve wrecking electoral adventure in Bayelsa, the summary of the two inconclusive elections is a strong testament that Prof. Mahmud will reverse all the glory recorded under Prof. Attahiru Jega if he is allow to continue to superintend further elections and therefore take us back to the era of incompetent electoral heist.
“The tension created in the inconclusive elections is unacceptable, and a betrayal of trust of a nation. We therefore demand the removal of the Chairman so as to bring competence and sanity to Electoral process.” He added.
