INEC Boss Yakubu Lands In Big Tr0uble Over Ghana Elections Comment
The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, has come under heavy criticism for his insensitive comments on the conduct of the just-concluded Presidential election in Ghana, which ex-President John Mahama won.
Yakubu had attributed the success recorded in the general election to innovations and political stability in Ghana.
Having monitored the election, Yakubu observed the consistency of political party structures and voter loyalty as key factors responsible for the electoral success in Ghana.
Naija News House reports that Ghanaians last Saturday headed to the polls to elect a new president and members of parliament, where the candidate of the National Democratic Congress, NDC, John Mahama, was elected president.
Reacting, the INEC Chairman described the electoral process as commendable and one that provides stability for Ghana and its citizens.
However, erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party, nPDP, and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has berated Yakubu for eulogizing the conduct of Ghana’s Presidential election, maintaining that the statement from the INEC boss was self-serving, idiotic, and, to say the least, hypocritical.
In a statement made available to the media, Chief Eze said, “It disturbs every sane mind to learn that Yakubu chose to toe the path of going down history lane as the most dangerous tool deployed to undermine Nigeria’s nascent democracy through a brazen display of electoral fraud and manipulations.”
Eze said the majority of the elections conducted by the commission under Yakubu fell short of the minimum required standard for elections in a democracy.
Eze noted that, not minding he is an APC chieftain, “the electoral commission under Yakubu’s watch has turned itself into an extension of the ruling government, which has continued to deploy state forces and resources to push opposition parties and dissenting voices into redundancy, which is not in tandem with a genuine democratic environment that supports plural political party practice.
“For such a questionable character who is at the forefront of the project to thwart the will of the majority of Nigerians at the polls to turn around to commend Ghana’s electoral process is the height of crass hypocrisy, sheer idiocy, and totally misguided.”
Chief Eze commended Ghana’s electoral umpire for extending an invitation to Yakubu to observe how elections are done creditably.
He knocked the INEC Chairman for stating that Ghana’s electoral body learned from Nigeria, describing such an inference as “false, misleading, and a mockery of the wisdom and integrity of Ghanaians and their decent electoral system.”
Eze maintained that under Prof. Yakubu, “INEC has nothing to offer to the outside world except asking aggrieved candidates and political parties to go to court to ventilate their grievances.”
“Nigeria is in the present sad situation because of the way Yakubu chose to conduct the 2023 general elections and other off-cycle elections that followed, causing Nigerians to lose hope in the entire electoral process.”
“Therefore, Yakubu’s commendation is an embarrassment to Nigerians before the international community, because he is at the helm of affairs of one of the most corrupt institutions in Nigeria.”
“For a man who, through his ineptitude, bad leadership style, and bias, has ruined Nigeria’s democratic process by conducting fraudulent elections to hail Ghana’s Presidential election smacks of insensitivity and is morally debasing.”
“As a result of the dangerous precedent being laid by INEC under the Chairmanship of Prof. Yakubu, Nigeria’s political future has become bleak, and the corporate existence of the country further threatened due to the charade being conducted in the name of an election.”
“It is sad and unfortunate that rather than work assiduously to imprint his name on the sands of time as one of Nigeria’s greatest electoral umpires, Prof. Yakubu has allowed himself to be used as a destructive tool and a clog in the wheels of Nigeria’s democratic system.”
“It is on record that most of the elections conducted in Nigeria under Prof. Yakubu’s watch are shambolic, regrettable, shameful, and a product of a cash-and-carry policy.”
“Under Prof. Yakubu’s leadership, INEC has become an extension of the ruling APC, as the commission discretely hobnobs with undemocratic forces in ensuring the decimation of opposition political parties.”
“Therefore, it is totally unacceptable, devilish, unpatriotic, and misleading for Yakubu to sing praises of Ghana’s electoral process while he has continued to goof in Nigeria.”
“Without mincing words, Nigeria’s electoral woes will continue unabated due to the involvement of the likes of Prof. Yakubu, who is perceived to be partisan and biased towards the ruling party.”
