Presidential Poll: Group Flays INEC Over Woeful Performance

A Civil Rights group under the aegis of International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Intersociety, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of deliberately flouting court orders for aggrieved political parties and their presidential candidates to inspect relevant electoral materials domiciled in the commission’s office.

The group also told the INEC chairman to stop talking of defaming his character and integrity; saying that his commission has no more integrity or character to protect.

Intersociety said that it is very embarrassing INEC that chairman and the commission as a body has not shown any iota of remorse over the controversial presidential election conducted recently where the commission refused to obey its own operational laws and guidelines.

“Intersociety is deeply shocked that despite widespread public outcries over the (alleged) rigging, the commission, including the chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has remained unperturbed, unmoved and remorseless.

“The worse of it is that Prof Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC Chair is threatening aggrieved politicians with lawsuit over alleged defamation of character for calling on him to resign on the ground of lack of character and integrity; we ask INEC where lies the integrity. There is no professorial and personal integrity, character left in INEC and its leaders to be defamed.

“Intersociety makes bold to say that there is no more professorial and personal integrity and character of the INEC Chairman left to be defamed. It is also obvious that resorting to threat of character defamation lawsuit by INEC Chairman is a ploy to intimidate and muscle the fundamental human rights of tens of millions of aggrieved voices aggrieved Nigerians over presidential (alleged) electoral fraud of 2023.

“By convention and law, INEC Chairman is vicariously liable for his conducts or misconducts, actions or inactions or commissions or omissions in the performance of his official duties. This is more so when Section 2(3) of INEC Establishment Act of 2004 unambiguously states that the Chairman and members of the Commission shall be persons of unquestionable integrity.

“INEC and its Chair must be stopped from nefarious conducts capable of plunging Nigeria into intractable dangers. The Commission’s resort to technicalities and other escapist clandestine conducts are totally condemned and must be unmasked. INEC must obey court orders and allow aggrieved parties access to the electoral materials.

“Intersociety hereby throws its full weight and support behind PDP and its Presidential Candidate as well as Labor Party and its Presidential Candidate for heading to electoral courts for determination of the true and moral winner of the 2023 Presidential Poll and who that emerged second, third and fourth.

“It has never been heard that a child is beaten and forced not to cry”, the group said.