SDP: Delta Central Senatorial Candidate Wants INEC Chairman Fired

By Daniel Dafe

The Delta Central Senatorial candidate for Social Democratic Party, SDP, Olorogun (Dr.) Ovie Ughwanogho, has called for the removal of Professor Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, adding that the Chairman seems to be playing the script of those that put him there.

Dr. Ughwanogho who spoke to newsmen while responding to questions over the postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections, added:   “The government in power should not be involved with appointing the INEC Chairman. He should rather be appointed by a panel of Supreme Court judges, not the president.

“Fundamentally, our electoral process is fraud and open to manipulation. Until we stop the president from been the one to appoint the INEC Chairman, we cannot get free and fair elections.”

He opined that with the postponement, he doubted if the elections will be free, fair and credible.

He said: “Some candidates have disbursed millions of naira overnight for logistics purpose. Some say it is for thugs, but, I know that there are honest candidates who disbursed millions of naira so that their agents can move around.”

He continued: “This year’s elections cannot be free and fair,” saying that INEC has been compromised.

He said further: “They can postpone the doomsday for themselves, but it will surely come. Nigerians are fed up with this government of deceit. The current government feeds on deceit. Nigerians are fed up with them and are prepared to vote them out of power today, but under the shady darkness of the night, they postponed the elections. This is a big injustice to all Nigerians. They have disrespected all Nigerians and Nigerians will pay them back on the 23rd of February, 2019.

“We are not deterred by their antics, but we will come out in full force and vote against those who have plundered our resources and deceived our people.

They said it was an issue of logistics. They had four years to prepare. They are a disgrace to civility and the Chairman ought to have resigned by now.”

According to him, INEC’s postponement of the election was as a result of a power struggle, saying that certain persons think they can use the machinery of state to muzzle the free will of Nigerians.

“Ultimate power belongs to the people and the people will give it to whosoever they wish. Nigerians are ready to resist any attempt to interfere with the freewill of the people,” he averred.