Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has advised officials of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to desist from maligning his character in the media or risk being sued for libel.
Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, who was reacting to calls by the PDP on Prof. Yakubu to step down for his handling of the Presidential and National Assembly elections, said the PDP should go to court and present the bagful of evidence it claims it has rather than subjecting the process to a media trial.
According to Oyekanmi, “The latest call by the People’s Democratic Party just like it did previously for the resignation of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC is misplaced.
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“Interestingly, the PDP did not provide any convincing evidence to back up all the spurious allegations it listed as Prof. Yakubu’s ‘infractions’.
“To be sure, the PDP failed to provide any evidence to substantiate the allegations of Yakubu’s ‘brazen violation of the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines, and criminal manipulation and alteration of election results’.
“The PDP also did not give the evidence to prove its claims that Prof. Yakubu ‘sabotaged the uploading and transmission of results from polling units.’
“Besides, the ‘several evidences’ that the PDP claimed ‘abound in the six geo-political zones of the country where winning figures scored by the PDP were switched in favour of the APC’ were also not laid bare.
“To be sure, the Commission does not rig elections. Rather, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System BVAS has, since its introduction, among other innovations, ensured the integrity of the electoral process by ensuring that only properly registered voters are allowed to vote on Election Day.
“It is common knowledge that the PDP has rejected the outcome of the presidential election and has vowed to challenge it in court.
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“The path of honour for the Party, therefore, is to pursue its case in court, armed with all the evidences at its disposal and wait for the court’s decision.
“But going about canvassing the same issues the party intends to plead in court on the pages of newspapers and calling for the resignation of the INEC Chairman is like putting the cart before the horse.
“More importantly, the PDP is hereby reminded that making libelous allegations against the person of the INEC Chairman is actionable. The party should henceforth desist from the practice”.