Mahmood Yakubu, enemy of the North – Arewa group
… Sack him now, group demands
A pro-northern group, Arewa Citizens’ Watch for Good Governance, has accused INEC of suppressing northern votes in favour of Southern Nigeria.
The accusation is coming less than 140 days to the general election in the country.
The group led by Mohammed Adamu is relatively unknown across the country.
But it claimed on Sunday in Kaduna that the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu and members of his team were working against the interest of the North.
The Arewa Citizens’ Watch for Good Governance urged the INEC Chairman as well as other top officials of the commission to resign their positions at once.
Speaking during a press conference, Adamu vowed that the Arewa Citizens Watch would mobilize people from the North to take over INEC offices in the region, including its national office in Abuja.
“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 Adamu led group further stressed, “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.”
Atiku Abubakar, Bola Tinubu, two towering politicians from the North and South who are contesting the 2023 presidential elections in the country. According to Adamu, it has become expedient for Mahmood and his team to resign to pave way for an independent probe that would get to the root of an alleged insertion of the names of foreigners in the nation’s voters register.
The group also claimed that it had previously urged INEC to extend the period of voters registration to enable the capture of more northerners who were enthusiastic about voting in the 2023 elections.
It however regretted that those appeals fail on deaf ears because the INEC Chair and his team have been “morally compromised”.
Insisting that the only option left is for the Chairman to leave office, the group stressed it would take every necessary steps, including petitions and the forceful occupation of INEC offices, to ensure that its request is met.
“Where Prof Mahmood fails to resign”, the group threatened, “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.”
The group claimed that Professor Mahmood Yakubu has been “seemingly compromised” by persons it did not name, and warned “on the danger” that his retention in office would pose to the electoral process.
It noted that the silence of the INEC chair over allegations from opposition political parties that he was under pressure to deactivate the BVAS machine is very disturbing.
“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“, the pro-Arewa emphasized.
The group added that it would pass a vote of no confidence on the outgoing administration of President Muhammadu Buhari if nothing is done.