Professor Mahmud Yakubu has failed as INEC chair – Secondus

A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under Professor Mahmud Yakubu of crass incompetence, saying that the Commission has glaringly failed to conduct a free, fair and credible election in the last one year.”

Secondus made the accusation in a personal statement he on Friday, maintaining that the recent events involving INEC had shown that the Commission lacks the wherewithal to be able to properly guide the nation’s democracy.

The former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP spoke against the backdrop of the arrest in Port Harcourt, last week, of one Atonyesia D. Petersid‎e, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), by the police for alleged production of fake result sheets to be used in the December 10 Rivers State re-scheduled election.

The events surrounding the electoral body since the assumption of office of Prof Yakubu as Chairman, Secondus pointed out, have led to the conclusion that the commission is not only incompetent but obviously working for the ruling APC.

“INEC under Professor Yakubu has shown crass incompetence as it failed glaringly to conduct a free, fair and credible election in the last one year”, he said.

Secondus further alleged that INEC has compromised its independence by conniving with agents of the APC to manipulate electoral process and undermine the will of the people.

He wondered where the printers of the Port Harcourt result sheet got the code number and all the security link if they were not in league with INEC officials. Secondus thus called on President Muhammedu Buhari to condemn the act and denounce APC’s desperation for power.

He described as most unfortunate “the fact that the commission is being pushed about with impunity by the ruling APC that is a huge beneficiary of a sound and credible electoral process put in place by the PDP.”

The former deputy national chairman of the opposition PDP pointed out that the failure of INEC to conduct credible poll has implication in the sustaintenance of democracy in the country.

He therefore urged all lovers of democracy to stand up against “this INEC that has shown clearly that its mission is to destroy this democracy by continuously thwarting the will of the people.”