Election may not hold if INEC chair resigns, Shittu tells Oshiomhole

The minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu on Monday said the call for the resignation of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu by the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Adams Oshiomhole is unfair and unacceptable.

Shittu said if the chairman of the umpire resigns, it may affect the conduct of the rescheduled general elections on Saturday.

“When Oshiomhole supervised horrible primaries elections of the party, who called for his resignation?” he queried.

The minister who spoke with reporters at his Ibadan residence urged Nigerians to give the INEC chairman a benefit of doubt.

“I will not support such call for resignation of the INEC chairman. To err is human. We have not seen any political motivation as to what has happened in INEC. If Oshiomhole calls for resignation of the INEC chairman, he should also be preparing to resign as chairman.  Did anybody ask him to resign for the horrible management of primary elections under his watch?

“This is the first election that Professor Yakubu will be conducting, so we need to give him the benefit of doubt and I will advise that all the political parties should be vigilant.

“If you bring in another chairman, when does such person begin to learn the process? Or will you on the basis of that call for another rescheduling of the elections?” he said.