Opposition parties ask INEC Chairman to step down, demand fresh elections

Some opposition parties in the country have asked Professor Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to step down.

The parties – Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party and the Action Democratic Congress (ADC) – made the call at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday.

Julius Abure, Chairman of Labour Party, who spoke on their behalf, said Nigerians had lost confidence in the electoral process because of the refusal to use electronic means of transmitting results as stated by the Electoral Act.

The parties alleged widespread manipulation and rigging and demanded that the elections should be canceled while a fresh one should take place.

“Section 60 sub-section 5 of the Electoral Act says that the presiding officer shall transfer the results, including total number of accredited voter and the results of the ballots in a manner as prescribed by the commission. A failure to comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act and the guidelines makes it imperative that all results recently uploaded on the IReV portal must be updated before they are announced,” he said.

“We therefore call on Yakubu to step aside from his role.”

Daily Trust reports that some agents of the opposition staged a walkout midway into collation of results on Monday.

So far, the results of 13 states have been released, with the top parties sharing the wins.

For Kwara, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 263,572 votes followed by Atiku Abubakar of the PDP who scored 136,909 votes.

Peter Obi of the LP polled 31,166 votes while Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) polled 3,141 votes.

In Osun, the APC polled 343,945, LP 23,283, NNPP 713, and PDP 354,366.

For Ondo, the APC polled 369,924, LP – 44,405, NNPP 930, and PDP 115,463.

Results for Gombe and Yobe states were also announced. Atiku won both states. Likewise, Obi won Enugu while Tinubu won Ogun.