Phrank Shaibu, Atiku Abubakar’s Special Assistant on Public Communication, has accused the Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, of following the same script as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, during the 2023 presidential election.
In a statement issued on Monday, Shaibu
described INEC’s activities as “Ali Baba and the 40 thieves.”
According to him, Yakubu conspired with
others to declare Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the
winner of Nigeria’s presidential election on February 25 despite the fact that
the election was riddled with irregularities.
He went on to say that Yunusa-Ari simply
followed in the footsteps of INEC chairman Yakubu with what happened on Sunday
in the Adamawa State governorship election.
Yunusa-Ari had on Sunday announced Senator
Aishatu Binani, of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the
election even while the results were still being collated.
It took the intervention of INEC headquarters
to halt the collation of results and denounce the REC’s results.
In response to the development, Shaibu stated
that the national leadership of INEC could not pretend to be unaware of the
numerous allegations hanging over the Adamawa REC’s neck.
According to Atiku’s aide, the suspension of
the Adamawa REC without his arrest and prosecution is merely a slap on the
wrist.
It is crystal clear even to the blind that
the Adamawa REC learnt well from the INEC Chairman. INEC as an organization,
from the top to the bottom is akin to Ali Baba and the 40 thieves. As a matter
of fact, the baby goat learns to eat grass by diligently watching the mama
devour the lush grass around them.
He said;
Over a month ago, Sahara Reporters published
an audio clip where the Adamawa REC was heard directing an election official,
Hammajam Mohammed, to rig the governorship election in favour of Binani.
In the leaked audio, Yunusa told Mohammed to
do everything humanly possible to make Binani win. He told the electoral
official that he was instructed by a higher authority to make Binani win.
Governor Ahmadu Fintiri complained severally about the compromised REC but INEC
did nothing about it.
Despite having over one month to prepare for
this supplementary poll, INEC retained this compromised REC who went ahead to
undermine the election once more. From all that has happened, it is obvious
that Yunusa-Ari was acting on orders from above and that is why Governor Ahmadu
Fintiri’s warnings were ignored.
This carefully orchestrated action is a
reflection of the electoral heist of February 25, 2023 when the INEC Chairman,
Mahmood Yakubu, decided to announce Bola Tinubu of the APC as winner despite
the many irregularities and complaints from several opposition parties. Indeed,
Yunusa-Ari acted like his father and boss, Mahmood Yakubu.
Shaibu alleged that INEC had always been in
bed with Binani and what transpired in Adamawa over the weekend didn’t come as
a surprise.
In his words;
INEC had in a statement by National
Commissioner, Festus Okoye, admitted to awarding a sensitive contract to the
Binani Printing Press Limited, a firm owned by the APC governorship candidate.
In the statement, Okoye had claimed that the
company was awarded the contract as a way of stimulating the economy and
encouraging Nigerian enterprise. It is obvious that Binani and INEC are in bed
together.
Atiku’s aide also said the INEC chairman
failed to organize a credible 2023 election despite getting the largest budget
ever in the history of elections in Nigeria.
He added;
How will Mahmood Yakubu be remembered? Well,
Nigerian singers like Falz and Vector have already composed a song titled
Yakubu so that generations unborn will remember the sort of character he is.
The video alone has garnered over one million views on Youtube and has become a
social media sensation.
This is a man who promised over and over
again to upload the results of elections in real-time unto the INEC’s portal
and failed to do so yet he lacks the decency to apologise to over 200 million
people. Nearly two months after that shambolic election, all the results have
yet to be uploaded.
Results from Rivers State even show that
Tinubu did not even win in that state. Rather than suspend the announcement of
results, Mr Yakubu decided to announce Tinubu as the winner. One wonders how
such a man sleeps at night.
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