Protesters storm INEC headquarters, ask Jega’s succesor to step down

Protesters under the aegis of Citizens For Good Governance are currently at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja.

The aggrieved individuals are demanding the resignation of Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the commission.

Yakubu succeeded Attahiru Jega, who was in charge of the commission during the 2011 and 2015 general elections.

The ‎protesters accused Yakubu of being incapable of leading the electoral body.

They claimed that Amina Zakari, a commissioner; Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation; and the All Progressives Congress (APC) were planning to rig the forthcoming legislative rerun election in Rivers state.

Describing the alleged plot as an invitation to anarchy, they said that Nigerians have lost faith in the INEC leadership.

In a statement signed by Agu Okwukwe, spokesman of the protesters, the group alleged that INEC had ceased to be an unbiased empire.

“The leadership of INEC since May 2015 has been drawing timetable in APC national secretariat, plans logistics and takes all sorts of instructions from the APC,” the statement read.

“Information has it that Hajia Amina Zakari with the consent of the INEC chairman handed over sample materials to Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, Senator Magnus Abe and Mr. Dakuku Peterside who was to pay for the favour at a meeting in Asokoro here in Abuja.

“It is for this and other reasons that we demand that the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu steps down immediately as INEC chairman and contest for the chairmanship of the APC while Hajia Amina Zakari also resigns and resumes work at the APC national secretariat as the national woman leader.”