A group, Arewa Citizens’ Watch for Good Governance (ACWGG), has called for the resignation of the National chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and his management team.
Mohammed Grema Adamu, the chairman of Arewa Citizens’ Watch for Good Governance (ACWGG), in a statement issued on Sunday in Kaduna, said, “That Prof Yakubu and members of his team should humbly resign so as to enable independent probe into allegation of insertion of foreigners names in our voters register.”
According to the statement, on 15th September, 2022, one Ikenga Ugochinyere Michael addressed a world press titled “Omuma Magic” wherein he alleged that 15,000 foreign names were registered in the rural village of the Governor of Imo State, Sen. Hope Uzodinma.
They alleged that the political fraud was carried out in over 18 States that would help generate 10 million fake votes using preloaded fake accreditation.
The statement stated that he (Ikenga Ugochinyere Michael) further alleged that scanned passport photos and burial pictures were used to register voters in most Local Government Areas in Imo State.
It explained that Mr Ikenga attributed the allegation to the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, APC.
On 12th October, 2022, the statement said Mr Ikenga organized another press conference under the guise of CUPP, CSO and the Coalition of Ethnic Nationalities that was aired live on Channels, Arise and AIT TV stations, alleging that political parties and opposition leaders have uncovered plots and pressure on INEC to deactivate BVAS from their server and force top INEC officials and the chairman out of office.
The statement noted that Ikenga and his co-travelers failed to acknowledge and commend the APC dominated National Assembly for legalizing the electronic transmission of results and President Muhammadu Buhari, who has been giving INEC all the needed support to enable them to deliver credible elections.
The statement said, “As a group, we made frantic efforts to get INEC to extend registration in our region following the shutdown of telecommunications networks to enable our armed forces carry out special operations in most Northwestern and North Central states, which fell on rocky grounds. The unfolding events, 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 through the registration of ghosts and foreigners.”
The group urged Mr Ikenga to stop blowing hot and cold at the same time by accusing the INEC of adulterating the voters register, and coming again to cry wolf that INEC officials were under pressure to resign.
“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 statement stressed.