The Action Alliance (AA) and Action Peoples Party (APP), have come in defense of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu following a call by the Labour for him to be suspended.
The Labour Party through the Director General of the defunct Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign, Mr. Balogun Akin Osuntokun while addressing reporters in Abuja on Thursday had called for the removal of Mahmood, saying he should be suspended and prosecuted just like the embattled CBN governor, Emefiele.
But in separate press statements, the other two opposition parties, the AA and APP described the Labour Party’s call as unfortunate, accusing the party of trying to damage the reputation of the INEC boss after failing to establish its case at the ongoing Presidential Election Petition Tribunal
the National Chairman of Action Alliance (AA) had in a statement accused the Labour Party of mudslinging the INEC boss having failed to establish its case at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
The AA, according to a statement signed by its National Chairman, Barrister Kenneth Udeze said the Labour Party and its public-facing organs are seeking to distract the public from the reality that their candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, did not win the 2023 presidential election and could not realistically have won it.
He said that reforms introduced by INEC that litigants are relying on to present their cases at various election petition tribunals across the nation.
“Assuming without conceding, the elections were manipulated, the Labour Party can only prove its case using the instrumentality of the innovations promoted and defended by the INEC chairman. It beggars belief that while relying on innovations introduced by the INEC chairman, the party still castigates him and seeks to hound him,” the statement said.
According to Udeze, the INEC under the leadership of Mahmood has introduced the most far-reaching innovations to improve the electoral process in Nigeria.
Also, the Action Peoples Party (APP) in a separate statement said it is unfortunate that INEC has become an easily available punching bag at whom the political class targets to manipulate the system or at whom the political class targets its angst.
The statement signed by Barrister Uche Nnadi, the Party’s Acting National Chairman asked the Labour Party to await the PEPC decision and refrain from needlessly stirring up the Nigerian public against an outstanding public servant because of their easily predicted loss at the election.”
He said, “It is on record that the political class stood by while INEC facilities were targeted and attacked in the build-up to the elections. For instance, INEC facilities in the South East were constantly attacked & equipment destroyed with little or no comments from people such as Mr. Osuntokun.
“We will be the first to admit that there were a few cases where politicians induced INEC staff to manipulate the process. However, it is on record that where these cases have been established, the Commission has demonstrated a commitment to prosecuting the perpetrators of these acts.”
