Allegations that President Muhammadu Buhari has planned to remove chairman INEC, Mahmoud Yakubu have been described as “ baseless and without foundation.”
A Presidency source on Saturday who refused to be quoted told BusinessDay that the “ allegation remains in the realm of speculation and it is baseless.”
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu had refused to comment on the issue, but instead referred BusinessDay to the spokesman of the Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo.
“ Please speak with the Campaign office” Shehu said
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Another Presidency source however declared that the INEC chairman cannot be suspended or removed at the time by the President.
“It is true that the President and the APC National Chairman have expressed their disappointment over the ways Mahmood Yakubu handled the issue, but the President can’t throw away the baby and the bath water.”
The President, he continued, “ had earlier assured Nigerians that he will do everything to ensure that the election is not only free, fair and credible, he also wants even his ardent critics to commend him on this after the election.”
The Coalition of United Political Parties CUPP, had raised an alarm over an alleged move by President Buhari to suspend the INEC chairman and appoint Amina Zakari as Acting Chairman, following INEC’s inability to conduct election today.
The CUPP National Spokesman, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere had alleged that the President had perfected plans to sack the INEC chairman over his refusal to conduct staggered elections.
Buhari, according to the CUPP, “wants to sack the INEC chairman over his refusal to conduct staggered elections today.”
The CUPP claimed that such plot to sack INEC chairman “will throw Nigeria into full electoral and constitutional crisis.”
Quoting Section 157 of the constitution, the CUPP noted that it will require a 2/3 majority of Senate for INEC chairman to be removed.
But Presidency source dismissed the claims saying that “ the INEC chairman is going nowhere. We need him to complete the job he has started.”
“Who will he appoint? Amina Zakari? , Some people just think that the President does not know what he is doing. You cannot compare a case of a corrupt person with someone who is doing his job, even though there are mistakes arising from there.”
