2019: PDP chieftain calls for removal of INEC chairman

PEOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) Chieftain, in Delta State, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, has added his voice to those demanding the immediate removal of Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu, before the 2019 general elections.

Onuesoke made the call while addressing members of Delta State chapter of Transition Monitoring Committee (TMG), who paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Warri, Delta State on Friday.

He said the 2019 polls would not be free and fair with Prof. Yakubu in the saddle as chairman of INEC, expressing fears that he would compromise the results.

He pointed out that the current INEC chairman may not be able to discharge his functions impartially because he hailed from the same region as the President Buhari.

The former governorship aspirant added that only recently, Nigerians saw the scandal of the abnormally large number of underage voters during the local government elections held in the North West State of Kano, a replay of the 2015 elections

“Besides that, what happened in the recent Osun State governorship election adds credence to the argument that Yakubu may not conduct a free and fair election in 2019 election,” he noted.

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Oneusoke argued that for the fact that Mr Yakubu is a cousin to Buhari, he should not have been appointed in the first place, stressing that it is safe to say that he is there as INEC boss to protect Buhari’s interest.

He maintained that he had no confidence in INEC, adding that no amount of the commission’s preparations would convince him about its capability to conduct free and fair elections next year.

“Let’s not deceive ourselves; INEC is not prepared for credible elections. If there is an agency that is not prepared for the 2019 election, it is INEC. I have no confidence in INEC. There is no amount of INEC’s preparations that will convince me.

“INEC chooses how it interprets laws to suit those they support. They choose the court orders to obey and the ones to disregard.

“In one state where it favours a particular, they obey. In another State, INEC will claim they are yet to see judgments not in favour of the party they support,” he averred.

He, however, warned that in 2019, any attempt by INEC to negatively manipulate the will of the people would be resisted.

He, therefore, demanded the replacement of the INEC chairman with a man/woman of integrity from another zone in order to restore public confidence in the electoral umpire as it prepares for the 2019 elections.