APC chieftain to Yakubu: Relist Rivers’ candidates or risk jail

Eze Eze, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state, says Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), risks a jail sentence by not including the party’s candidate in Rivers state on the ballot.

In a statement on Thursday, Eze said INEC has no reason not to include the governorship, federal and state assembly candidates of the party in the elections.

According to Eze, there is no judgement of the supreme court barring the APC from fielding candidates in the election.

He said the INEC chairman should not allow himself to be misled by “enemies of true democracy” to rob the people of the opportunity to make a choice at the polls.

“The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has been advised not to allow misleading interpretations of court judgement on Rivers elections put him into judicial troubles,” Eze said.

“Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, wherein he committed to obey a so-called judgment of the Supreme Court, mysteriously premised on error, falsehood and deliberately misleading as there is no Supreme Court judgment anywhere authorizing INEC to delist APC candidates in Rivers state.

“With this fact, I am advising the INEC leadership not to constitute themselves into enemies of democracy by obeying a non-existent Supreme Court judgment. Hence the chairman of INEC must be well guided by credible evidence and not mere media misrepresentations and misinterpretation, which are mischievously aimed at destroying an entire political future of a State.

“For the records, APC had, in a letter, which was addressed to the INEC Chairman, dated February 19, through its like; Messr Tuduru Ede and Co, argued that the APC duly submitted the list of its candidates for Rivers state for the 2019 general elections in line with the timetable and schedule of activities released by the commission.

“In view of the foregoing, I call on the Commission as a law abiding Institution to without delay publish the names of candidates of APC in Rivers State for the 2019 general election as submitted by the APC.”

Eze said those who don’t want APC to participate in the elections in Rivers want to frustrate the reelection of President Muhammadu Buhari by weakening the party structure in the state.

“Secondly, these evil forces are to ensure that Rt. Hon. Dr Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi doesn’t have a political base against the politics of 2023 and sadly Prof Yakubu is playing into their hands and will not expect us to fold hands and watch him ruin the political future of committed and dedicated members of the party.”

Relying on a supreme court judgment, INEC had failed to enlist candidates of the party for the governorship, national and state assembly elections — following the crisis between two factions of the party in the state .