Presidency, APC sabotaging INEC, favour staggered elections, PDP, CUPP alleged

*Allege FG plans to replace Yakubu with Amina Zakari as INEC Chairman

Tunde Opalana, Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) have accused the Presidency and ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of sabotaging the efforts of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct the postponed Presidential and National Assembly elections. They accused the federal government and the ruling party of trying to placate INEC to conduct staggered polls in 20 states with incomplete election materials in order to perfect plans in place to rig the election for President Muhammadu Buhari. As part of the grand plot to perpetrate the reinstatement of President Buhari in power, it was alleged that the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu will be edged out and be replaced by a senior serving National Commissioner, Mrs. Amina Zakari, who they claim is related to the President . The PDP alerted Nigerians that contrary to simulated stance by the Buhari Presidency and APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, fresh facts have confirmed that elements of the federal government and the APC have been sabotaging the INEC in a well-orchestrated plot to engineer a staggered presidential election. The party said it was reliably informed that Mrs. Amina Zakari and another high-ranking INEC commissioner played a pivotal role in assisting the APC and the Buhari Presidency in sabotaging the operations of INEC and scuttling the February16 elections. Director of Media, PDP Presidential Campaign Organization, Kola Ologbondiyan said this was premised on premeditated plans by President Buhari to have a staggered election where he can use security agencies to subvert the will of the people at the polls. The party alleged that the APC elements in INEC engineered actions that affected the distribution and delivery of INEC sensitive materials to designated locations, thereby frustrating the electoral process. “We also have details of how a hired team of data hackers corrupted the voters register, with a view to cause mass confusion and voters’ suppression on the election day. “Nigerians would have been shocked that many registered voters in possession of their Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) would have arrived their polling centres on election day, only to discover to their amazement that their names have disappeared from the register in their units. “Intelligence available to us further details how agents of the Buhari Presidency infiltrated the distribution system and ensured that sensitive election materials do not arrive at the designated locations, with the views to stall elections in several states and pave way for a staggered election. “This is in addition to deliberate swapping of sensitive election materials between different states and local governments so as to muddle up the process and stall election in affected areas. In some states like Edo, sensitive election materials did not arrive at their designated points on APC interruption,” said Ologbondiyan. The PDP called on President Buhari to save himself from further disgrace, by ensuring that his cabal and their ilk in the APC cease forthwith from tampering with the electoral process. Similarly, the CUPP has raised the alarm over alleged moves by President Buhari to suspend the INEC chairman and appoint Amina Zakari as acting chairman under the guise of INEC’s inability to conduct elections last Saturday. It said the consequence of this is that the entire electoral process would be thrown into confusion and the country thrown into an unwanted constitutional crisis. The coalition further alleged that President Buhari wants to sack the INEC chairman for refusing to conduct staggered elections as planned to create room for electoral fraud without minding the recommendations of Section 157 of the constitution which requires two-third majority of the Senate for the removal of the INEC chairman Spokesperson of the CUPP, Ikenga Ugochinyere in a statement said President Buhari had on Saturday hurriedly returned back to Abuja from Daura, Katsina state with the plan to sack the INEC boss. “The sin of the INEC chairman is that he refused to conduct staggered elections that will allow the President and his men to manipulate the process. The Presidency had mounted pressure on the commission to conduct elections in states where there were no issues and postpone only the states with materials distribution issues. “The INEC chairman insisted on conducting the election at the same time, hence warranting the postponement of the entire elections. “We hereby warn President Buhari that the position of the INEC chairman is independent, hence, he cannot be removed from office via suspension. The 1999 Constitution in Section 157(1) states that the chairman and members of the commission may only be removed by the President acting on an address supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate that the person be removed for inability to discharge the functions of the office (whether arising from infirmity of mind or body or any other cause) or for misconduct “We are aware that the government itself sabotaged INEC distribution of materials and he is turning around to suspend the chairman of INEC illegally. “You used Amina Zakari to compromise about eight federal commissioners to support your plan to conduct staggered elections. Your security forces looked the other way while your supporters burnt INEC offices and card readers. “We are warning that any attempt to sack or suspend the INEC chairman will only lead to electoral and constitutional crisis. The nation is still grappling with the illegality and unconstitutionality of the removal of the chief justice of Nigeria and the President wants to go down this ignoble path again,” he said. The CUPP said though INEC failed Nigerians, the commission disappointed the President more by refusing staggered election and Buhari issued a statement blaming INEC.