Shambolic elections responsible for Youth mass exodus – Activist

By Andrew Oota

A human Rights activist and former national legal adviser, Inter Party Advisory Council of Nigeria (IPAC) Barrister Chukwudi Ezeobika has called for the investigation of the activities of the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, professor Yakubu Mahmud
and his Commissioners describing the institution’s current image as “battered, impaired, and corruption-ridden electoral institution”.

The activist stated further that “the continued retention of Prof. Yakubu Mahmood as INEC Chairman portends a grave danger to Nigeria’s democratic process”

According to him “Prof. Yakubu Mahmood’s incompetence – Sole is the reason for the mass exodus of Nigerian youths (JAPA Syndrome)”.

Barrister Chukwudi Ezeobika attributed the exodus of Nigerian Youths in droves out of the country(JAPA syndrome) as a fallout of the shambolic elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) under Prof Mahmoud Yakubu

His words ,”the Independent National Electoral Commission under Prof. Yakubu Mahmood has remained the main reason why the Nigerian youths, have completely lost hope in the entity called Nigeria and have resorted to leaving the country in droves (JAPA Syndrome).

“Prof. Yakubu Mahmood and his electoral body both at the national and State levels have not only destroyed the future of many youths in Nigeria by remaining partisan in the conduct of elections but has consistently, wilfully and deliberately misled the electorates on its programmes and schedule for elections since his appointment as the Chairman of INEC.

“From its bold supervision of parallel party primaries across the States of the Federation to its declaration of false and or unpopular Candidates as winners of elections and party primaries in Nigeria, the recklessness of the electoral umpire under Prof. Yakubu Mahmood can not be overemphasised.

“The misinformation to and false education of Nigerians by Prof. Mahmood Yakubu-led INEC on the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), which is an electronic device designed to read Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and authenticate voters simultaneously as well as IReV which allows members of the public to create personal accounts and monitor uploaded results, increasing the transparency and integrity of the electoral process, has remained the greatest scam and falsehood in the history of elections in Nigeria.

“The cost of the inadequacies, inept and incompetence of Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, in the discharge of his duties as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, can not be overemphasised.

“From personal costs on litigation to Nigerians (Nominees and Candidates alike), which runs into several billions of Naira yearly, due to their participation in the primaries and elections monitored and conducted by INEC, to the huge financial burden on tax payer’s money budgeted yearly by the Nigerian government in prosecuting civil and criminal cases which sterm from the unwholesome activities of the electoral body in the discharge of its constitutional duties, it is now evidently obvious that
the continued retention of Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, as the Chairman of INEC in Nigeria, is not only insulting but acutely reprehensible.

“In view of the foregoing, I call on the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede to redeem the corrupt and battered image of the electoral system in Nigeria by promptly investigating billions of taxpayers’ money budgeted and released to INEC under Prof. Yakubu Mahmood for the conduct of elections in Nigeria.

“I call on the Commission to further investigate personal financial activities of Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, as well as that of the Commissioners under him since their appointments”.