Buhari: no plan to remove INEC Chairman Yakubu

There is no plan to remove Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) Chairman Mahmood Yakubu over the abrupt
postponement of the general elections, the Presidency said
yesterday.

A leading politician has alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari
was planning to give Yakubu the push over last Saturday’s
postponement of the elections.

“It is not true,” a Presidency source said.

The denial came amid claims that Prof. Yakubu has taken charge
of logistics for the elections.

Besides, our reporter learnt, the electoral agency is to release
details of the state-by-state collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards
(PVCs).

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and
Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, debunked the reports that Yakubu was
to be removed.

Shehu said: “Those reports are utterly baseless and false. There
is nothing like that.

“Whoever is saying the President is removing INEC chairman is
just displaying his illiteracy. Let him go and read the
constitution.

“You need a resolution by two-thirds majority of the Senate for
any such action.”

The clarification by the Presidency came against the backdrop of
the agitation by National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic
Party(PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, and the alarm raised by the
amorphous Coalition of United Political Parties( CUPP) that
President Muhammadu Buhari was plotting to remove the INEC
chairman.”

Another government source, who spoke in confidence, said: “What
PDP National Chairman Secondus wanted was more of electoral
anarchy, which this Buhari administration will not oblige him.
Resignation or removal of INEC chairman is never contemplated by
the President.

“Buhari’s administration will not change the rule in the middle
of the game. Asking INEC chairman to quit will cause rumpus within
INEC management , disrupt all preparations for the poll and create
unrest nationwide.

“The opposition has a hidden agenda, which this government will
not buy into. We will also not play into their hands.The INEC
chairman will remain in charge of the electoral agency.”

Secondus said the “shoddy” arrangement for the elections by INEC
was “a deliberate agenda” of President Buhari to cling on to power
even when it’s obvious to him that Nigerians want him out.

Secondus called on Yakubu to resign immediately.

The PDP leader warned that the party will not accept anything
short of a well organised electoral process devoid of manipulation,
harassment and intimidation of voters and the opposition,
particularly members of the PDP.

Having failed in all their nefarious options to enable them
cling on to power, the APC and the INEC came up with the idea of
shifting elections, an action that is dangerous to our democracy
and unacceptable, Secondus said.

Sections 157 and 158 of the 1999 Constitution prescribe
conditions for the removal of the INEC chairman and National
Commissioners as well as board members of nine other agencies.

Section 157 says: “(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection
(3) of this section, a person holding any of the offices to which
this section applies may only be removed from that office by the
President acting on an address supported by two-thirds majority of
the Senate praying that he be so 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.

“(2) This section applies to the offices of the Chairman and
members of the Code of Conduct Bureau, the Federal Civil Service
Commission, the Independent National Electoral Commission, the
National Judicial Council, the Federal Judicial Service Commission,
the Federal Character Commission, the Nigeria Police Council, the
National Population Commission, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation
and Fiscal Commission and the Police Service Commission.

“(3) All members of the National Population Commission shall
cease to be members if the President declares a National Census
Report as unreliable and the report is rejected in accordance with
Section 213 of this Constitution.”

Section 158 (1) says: “In exercising its power to make
appointments or to exercise disciplinary control over persons, the
Code of Conduct Bureau, the National Judicial Council, the Federal
Civil Service Commission, the Federal Judicial Service Commission,
the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission, the Federal
Character Commission, and the Independent National Electoral
Commission shall not be subject to the direction or control of any
other authority or person.”

A source, who spoke in confidence, told The Nation that “the
INEC chairman had told his team of his plan to supervise the
logistics for the elections”. He said from Monday, he will shift
base to the airport to take stock and monitor the airlift of
sensitive materials to all the states,” The source said,
adding:

“He has vowed not to leave any stone unturned. The latest plan
is to ensure that all the 36 states and the FCT are ready for the
first phase of the elections on or before Thursday. We want
everything set in 8,809 Registration Areas, Wards and in 119, 973
Polling Units and 57,023 Voting Points nationwide so that
accreditation can take off simultaneously on Saturday.

“If the Central Bank of Nigeria or the Nigerian Air Force cannot
cope with the airlift of materials, INEC has floated a Plan B to
engage chartered aircraft. No stone will be left unturned.”

Meanwhile, the electoral commission may release the statistics
on collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards on state by state basis
during the week.

A National Commissioner said: “We will be as transparent as
possible. During the week, we will release the statistics of PVCs’
collection per state. Also, each Resident Electoral Commissioner (
REC) will be mandated to make the breakdown of the PVCs available
to the public on local government basis.

“While it is true that over 84million eligible voters
registered, not all of them collected their PVCs. We want to give
account of what was collected before the poll.”

The CUPP on Saturday raised the alarm over an alleged plan by
the President to suspend the INEC chair.

It alleged that President Buhari was planning to replace Yakubu
with Amina Zakari as Acting Chairman under the guise of INEC’s
inability to conduct the presidential and National Assembly
elections.

According to CUPP, Buhari wanted to sack the INEC chair for
refusing to conduct staggered election.

In a statement by its National spokesperson, Ikenga Ugochinyere,
the CUPP alleged that the Buhari-led APC sabotaged INEC
distribution of materials and turned back to condemn the electoral
umpire.

The coalition warned that the move to sack INEC chairman will
throw Nigeria into full electoral and constitutional crisis.

The statement reads: “The Coalition of United Political Parties
is alerting the world of plan and decision by President Muhammadu
Buhari to announce the suspension of the chairman of the
Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, from
office.

“The President has also pencilled down Amina Zakari for
appointment as the Acting Chairman citing her experience as the
oldest and most experienced National Commissioner of the
Commission.

“The President is planning to use the excuse of inability to
hold election today (Saturday) as a reason for the imminent
suspension.

“Feigning ignorance of the real reasons behind the shift, the
President in his earlier statement did not have just a word for the
shameful and despicable actions of security forces and the central
Bank staff who in obedience to Presidency directives deliberately
sabotaged the distribution of sensitive materials in selected
states.

“We are aware that his hurried return to Abuja today (Saturday)
from his home state, Katsina is to sack the INEC boss. But this
should be resisted by all well-meaning Nigerians and the
international community.

“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 election today (Saturday) 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
election.

“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.”