Cease negative campaign against, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, CSO tells Chidi Odinkalu

The Civic Integrity Initiative (CII), a civil society organisation (CSO), has called on Chidi Odinkalu, a former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), to cease his “unrelenting campaign of calumny on media” against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Mahmood Yakubu, its chairman.

In a statement, Kamson Chidubem, the convener of CII, berated Odinkalu for “biased criticisms and media abuses” aimed at discrediting Yakubu’s leadership of INEC.

He recalled that Odinkalu had recently used his X account to describe Yakubu as “a thug and a bandit”.

Chidubem said INEC, under the leadership of Yakubu, has implemented significant reforms to improve Nigeria’s electoral process.

“Prof. Yakubu has championed unprecedented reforms that have contributed immensely to the transparency and credibility of the electoral process in Nigeria,” the statement reads.

Chidubem said Yakubu introduced the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS), the digitalisation of election processes, and the expansion of voter access nationwide.

“These innovations have earned INEC commendations both domestically and internationally for improving the integrity of our elections,” he said.

He accused Odinkalu of always pushing a “negative agenda” against Nigeria, adding that he should redirect his focus towards more constructive contributions.

“Odinkalu is only known for pushing divisive and detrimental stories about Nigeria, rather than championing genuine reforms that enhance our democratic process,” Chidubem said.

“We suggest he champions real reforms and policies that enhance our democratic process, rather than tearing our institutions down with unfounded criticisms and rhetoric.

“It is time for Odinkalu to leave Prof. Yakubu alone and stop undermining the efforts of those working tirelessly to strengthen democracy in Nigeria.”