Senate President Ahmed Lawan is allegedly puting pressure on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to help the All Progressive Congress, APC, rig the election and be assured of tenure elongation.
Prof. Yakubu was first appointed as INEC chairman by President Mohammadu Buhari in October 2015 for a first five-year tenure. His tenure is up by 2020.
Sources told pointblanknews.com that in several meetings held recently, the Senate President told the INEC chairman that his tenure is only renewable if he helps the APC win the Edo elections.
The Edo State Governorship election is scheduled for September. The incumbent Governor Godwin Obaseki, formerly of the APC, recently defected and joined the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Obaseki’s defection to PDP has been a major headache for the APC who are no longer confident of a victory.
However, to ensure a victory at all costs, the APC, according to sources mandated the Senate President to meet with the INEC chairman and pressure him to help the part win and boost their electoral fortunes in 2023.
Pointblanknews.com gathered that a victory for the APC in Edo would boost the party’s chances ahead of the 2023 general elections if the INEC boss gets his tenure renewed.
“There is a plot by the senate president to ensure the return of the INCE chairman for a second tenure, the senate president held a meeting with the INEC chairman where he stated that his tenure would soon be over but will be allowed to have a second term on the condition that he returns the APC in 2023.”
According to the source, “to be sure that he does not renege on their agreement, the senate president has asked the INEC chairman to deliver Edo State in the forthcoming election, this will prove that he will play ball in 2023 and as such, the senate president would recommend him to Mohamadu Buhari through his chief of staff to be allowed to come back for a second term.”
The source who did not want to be named stated that “the international community, UN, United States, UK, EU, etc. Should to be vigilant and impress it on this clueless APC government that they will be held accountable for their actions if they derail Nigeria’s democracy.”
The INEC Chairman and the Senate President could not be reached for comment. But sources told Pointblanknews.com that the INEC chairman is highly unlikely to cave into such pressure.
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