The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), has condemned those using smear campaign to demand for the sacking of the Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mamoud Yakubu.
Addressing a press conference on Friday in Kaduna, President of AYCF, Yerima Shettima, said those masquerading as campaigners for electoral sanity and accountability in INEC are rabble-rousers and attention-seekers.
“We have followed with keen interest an ongoing smear campaign and the call for the sack of INEC Chairman by a group of rabble-rousers masquerading as campaigners for electoral sanity and accountability in INEC, when infact they’re attention-seekers.
“As a group of progressive-minded advocates, we totally disagree with the so-called Arewa Coalition calling for the sack of the INEC Chairman”, Yerima said.
According to him, the Arewa Citizens for Good Governance which is calling for sacking the INEC Chairman, did not bother to check kthe achievements of INEC under the leadership of Yakubu “before their charade of spurious claims and allegations”.
Yerima maintained that “there has never been a better strategy of Nigerian voter education efforts than the one launched by the leadership of Yakubu in recent years.
He said, “The circumstances under which INEC has been effectively planning, coordinating and generally handling its operations is unprecedented, considering the financial difficulties currently facing Nigeria due to rampaging inflation”.
Yerima argues further that, “The revolution in election results collections, using the BVA and other electronic transmission devices is the first of its kind in Nigeria’s election history.
“The electoral umpire has proved its neutrality in elections since 2015, when even the current administration lost out in some elections.
“No manager of the electoral umpire has ever dared to let work so efficiently that even the party in power could lose in some instances.
“Prof. Yakubu has built a name of transparency and accountability in the conduct of elections and efficiency in the choice of his team for all categories of elections over the years and we dare say he would sustain the tempo”.
The group called on Nigerians to “ignore the rantings of self-seeking, never-see-good groups seeking to distract a dedicated public servant like Prof. Yakubu from sustaining the tempo of his wonderful contributions to deepening Nigeria’s democracy.”
“We advise this group of attention-seekers to stop distracting the INEC Chairman with unsubstantiated allegations.
“Let the umpire boss be allowed to discharge his responsibilities with the same neutrality that he has been doing so for years.
“We are confident that the Professor is set to etch his name in gold, in the annals of Nigeria’s democratic history and no misguided attack on his person or the umpire can change that.”
