Yakubu on 2023 at Chatham House: Why INEC is prepared for run-off presidential election

 

 

 

Chairman Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Mahmood Yakubu has hinted on the possibility of a run-off election after the first ballot February 25, 2023 presidential election, saying the electoral body was prepared in event of no clear winner emerging.

Yakubu stated this Tuesday at Chatham House London when he discussed the plans of Nigeria’s electoral management body for the forthcoming general elections.

He recalled that INEC had always prepared for a presidential run-off in the three previous elections and this year’s presidential election would not be an exception.

He also added that the commission was not considering the postponement of the presidential poll amid attacks on its offices nationwide.

“The truth of the matter is that for every general election, the commission prepares, at least for some time now, in the last three electoral cycles, we also prepared for that possibility,” he told participants during his appearance at the global think-tank forum.

“The reason is: until the constitution was amended, there was only one week for presidential run-off in case it happens. With the number of registered voters we have, it is almost impossible to print the ballot papers required and the result sheet and deliver them to locations and conduct the elections as required.

“So, every election since the last three electoral cycles, we also make provisions for the possibility of a presidential run-off in case it happens. If it happens, then we’ll have no issues, and this year is no exception,” Yakubu said.

Yakubu said with the amendment to the constitution, INEC now has three weeks between the presidential election date and the run-off date.

“Fortunately, the time frame has also been extended. The first alteration to the constitution has extended it by two more weeks.

“So, it is now three weeks instead of one week that we have before. We always prepare for that possibility in case it happens. We don’t know; it is in the hands of the voters but if it happens, we will not be caught napping,” he said.

What the Constitution says

Section 134 of the Nigerian Constitution says  a presidential candidate can only be announced as the winner if he or she has the majority of votes cast at the election; and has not less than one-quarter of the votes cast at the election in at least two-thirds of all the States in the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Sub section 3 of the same section states explicitly that “in default of a candidate duly elected in accordance with subsection (2) of this section there shall be a second election”.

Atiku blasts Tinubu on Achimugu
Meanwhile, the Atiku Abubakar/Ifeanyi Okowa Presidential Campaign Council has cautioned Nigerians to be wary of the antics of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and not submit to his alleged overbearing tendencies.

The campaign council warned that Nigerians would be subjecting themselves to internal slavery if they gave Tinubu their mandate in the forthcoming general elections.

The position of the campaign council followed Tuesday’s call  by APC- Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) that Atiku should be arrested, prosecuted and withdrawn from the presidential race for certain alleged  ‘crimes’ as the nation’s number two person between 1999 and 2007.

The APC’s position was hinged on a revelation via a viral video by one Michael Achimugu, who claimed to be the former VP’s aide.

Specifically, Achimugu alleged the PDP candidate was involved in a Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) deal under the Obasanjo/Atiku administration.

But the Atiku campaign organization faulted the APC-PCC’s position, saying Achimugu was never at any time the former VP’s aide.

The duo of Dino Melaye and Charles Aniagwu said this in separate positions.

Featuring on CHANNELS TV programme Monday night, Melaye, a campaign spokesman, claimed the APC sponsored Achimugu to blackmail the former VP.

He said: “Festus Keyamo corroborated the lies of Mike and that has given us the foundation of where Mike stated from. Mike is being sponsored by APC; Mike is being sponsored by Bola Ahmed Tinubu. That is why they are doing a follow up to a project they started with Mike, Mike is not a media aide of Atiku Abubakar, the letters he brought online and he produced and which shamelessly, myopically Festus is referring to are letters from support groups, that do not have the mandate of Atiku.

“It is not part of our presidential campaign council and those letters were written by those who have no close official administrative time with Atiku and surprisingly only in Nigeria will people be reacting to this type of frivolous and unfounded stories.

“It’s a very a laughable press conference and this has completely shown the desperation of the APC; this has shown their satanic manifestation, this has shown they have all accepted Atiku is the leading presidential candidate of the federal republic of Nigeria. They have no other credible means of campaigning or trying to fight the PDP than to orchestrate lies from the pit of hell.

“I don’t take Panadol for another man’s headache, I want to assure you that the man making this allegations has more than three cases in court already for blackmail…., so I want to announce to you that either myself or the PDP as a party after today will not react to any question coming from this blackmailer.”

In a similar position, another campaign spokesman, Charles Aniagwu, said it was a ploy by Tinubu’s APC to extend his control to 35 other states as allegedly done in Lagos.

He spoke at a press conference Tuesday in Asaba, and urged Nigerians to be cautious and vote rightly for the PDP presidential candidate.

“As a campaign council, we are urging Nigerians not to make the mistake of submitting themselves to internal slavery by the APC whose Presidential candidate had since captured Lagos and what he is looking for is to expand his territorial control beyond Lagos to control the entire country in form of slavery.

“For those of you who may not know, a number of the major projects and programmes in Lagos are controlled by this same individual. When you get to Lagos and ask them about BRT, you will discover that it is handled by this man’s family. The signage in Lagos which is a very big business is handled by his son; the collection of taxes in Lagos which is the biggest in terms of tax collection is handled by a company that is said to belong to this same man.

“Needn’t I mention other sources of revenue that Lagos should have benefited from and you also know how he handpicks those who will govern Lagos to the extent that Ambode, a man that was doing well was taken out because he disagreed with them on how to share the funds of the people of Lagos,” he said.

The campaign council also said: “If we don’t want to submit ourselves to slavery, Nigerians must stop Tinubu from crossing Lagos into the other 35 states and the FCT because that will amount to internal slavery for all of us where he alone will determine the next President, and who gets what and not forces of democratic governance.

“As part of that unbridled quest to expand his grip and capture the states, they have cooked up stories because they have seen that Nigerians are convinced that Atiku Abubakar is a man that has what it takes to recover this country and place it on the path of growth and development.

“They have gone to wake up a blackmailer and they call him a whistle blower. I’m sure that as journalists you know who a whistle blower is and who a blackmailer is.

“Michael Achimugu was not a staff of Atiku Abubakar, he was a staff of one of the support groups with the daughter, he was not employed to work for Atiku Abubakar.

“If all he does is to record his boss and his friend and you call that whistle blowing, all of you know that is not whistle blowing but blackmail and anybody who is a blackmailer cannot be taken seriously and we are not perturbed because it was not done with the intention to help our country.”

Aniagwu, who is the Commissioner for Information in Delta state, said the campaign council was concerned about the challenges bedevilling  the nation and how to solve them and not engage in mundane issues.

The campaign spokesman further said: “As a campaign council we know what the issues are that our youths are losing their jobs and more than 133million Nigerians are now suffering from what they call multi-dimensional poverty, our economy is not in the best of shape while our unity is terribly challenged.

“There is also the need for our children to have the best of education to curb the ‘Jappa’ syndrome and of course to progress the country from a consumption atmosphere to a much more productive environment.
“Any attempt to raise issues that don’t add up so that they can have their way to enslave the rest of us, we are asking Nigerians to be weary of him and ask Lagosians what they are going through in his hands.”

Tinubu in Kwara 

In a related development, the APC campaign train moved to Kwara state Tuesday where its presidential candidate, Asiwaju Tinubu told Kwarans to give him their votes to guarantee food on the common man’s table as well as prosperity for all Nigerians.

He also asked people of the state to reassert their freedom by re-electing the state governor, Malam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and all  the APC candidates in the 2023 general elections.

Tinubu said the Otoge mantra that swept off the then ruling government four years ago went viral”like a thunder bolt across the country.”

Speaking at the flag-off of the APC presidential rally for Bola Tinubu/Kashim Shettima ticket at the metropolitan square Ilorin, Tinubu said the people of the state needed to vote for him as president come February 2023 to assert the freedom which they earned four years ago.

He said: “Kwara people, I congratulate you for your freedom four years ago. It was a thunderbolt across the country. You deserve great congratulations,” he told thousands of party supporters and chieftains who attended the rally in Ilorin, the state capital.

“Today, we are just celebrating freedom. We are re-assessing and re-asserting our freedom in democracy. Yesterday, they never believed that today would happen, but it is happening in your lifetime. We thank you for believing in (Governor) AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq. He knows how to behave. He is a very honest and genuine, hardworking man.

“On February 25th, you are going to come out with your PVCs to vote. No any other choice, vote for me as your presidential candidate and vote for all our National Assembly candidates, vote for Governor AbdulRazaq and all the House of Amassembly candidates on March 11.”

Also speaking, APC National Chairman Senator Abdullahi Adamu expressed delight over the large turnout of supporters at the rally, saying “with what we have seen here today, it means Kwara is fully BATIFIED.”

Governor Abdulrazaq speaks

Accompanied by his wife, Olufolake, Governor AbdulRazaq commended the people of the state for coming out in droves to welcome Tinubu and his entourage.

He said: “This huge crowd is a testament to our standing with the people of Kwara State. It shows that we have won this election. Our presidential candidate has seen what we have done in this state. Kwara is APC. Kwara indeed is one of the strongholds of the APC. Our members are happy. The state is happy. They have seen what we have done. We met a failed state in several sectors, and we have been able to tackle it from education, healthcare, and other sectors. All the indices have gone up in the right sense.

“You need to continue to support this party at all levels. President Muhammadu Buhari has done well. We need to build on his success. No person could have done what he has done, despite the economic downturn, Covid-19 pandemic and global economic crisis. We must sustain this growth consistently. That will be continued by our incoming team led by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“Party faithful, I urge you to support and vote for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The progress we have in this state will be continued with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We thank him for the support he gave us in 2019. He gave us full support in throwing out the termites in this state.

“We still want to thank Mr. President, who is away in Mauritania. He couldn’t be here but he will come back here. We appreciate his efforts and the support he has been giving this government for the progress of the state. You all know what we have been doing in this state from healthcare.

“Don’t allow the party of people of dubious characters to come back into this state. Don’t allow people who stole the UBEC funds to come back to this state. They could not even pay salaries. What are they coming to do?

“Just last month, we paid N3.5billion for pensions and gratuities of 2009 and 2010. When we came in, there was no water works working in this state. We have 90 waterworks in this state right from the time of Sir Ahmadu Bello. They crashed everything. In fact, they were not paying counterpart funds in the health sector. Nothing.”