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.
WITHIN NIGERIA recalls 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.
Discussion about this post