… Demands weeding out of partisan, corrupt INEC officials
By Chimezie Godfrey
The PDP Governors’ Forum has condemned the show of shame in Adamawa State on the April 18 supplementary Governorship election.
This was made known in a statement signed by the Director General, PDP Governors’ Forum, Hon. C.I.D. Maduabum, made available to Newsdiaryonline on Monday.
According to Maduabum, the Forum which condemned the attempted electoral heist and brigandage perpetrated by the Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, commended the immediate steps taken by the INEC as an institution to recover its battered image by nullifying the attempted coup and suspending the REC.
He stated,”The PDP Governors’ Forum, under the leadership of Rt Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal CFR, strongly condemns the show of shame in Adamawa State on the April 18 supplementary Governorship election. The attempted electoral heist and brigandage perpetrated by the Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Barrister Hudu Yunusa, is perhaps the lowest point of the 2023 General elections.
“We commend the immediate steps taken by the INEC as an institution to recover its battered image by nullifying the attempted coup and suspending the REC.
“The appropriate Returning Officer, Mele Lamido, should immediately conclude the collation and declare the result.
“One of the most important lessons of this election season is that the integrity of INEC personnel is crucial to free, fair, and credible elections as well as deployment of technology.
“Going forward, there should be a deliberate process of revisiting the appointments of National and Resident Electoral Commissioners to weed out corrupt and extremely partisan officials. It is the partisan method of appointment of these officials that led to national disgrace in Adamawa State.
“Appropriate sanctions, including prosecution of all those involved, especially the former Resident Electoral Commissioner, Barrister Hudu Yunusa, should be swiftly commenced to serve as an example to others.”
The Forum enjoined all Nigerians to be on alert as “we brace up to emerging threats to our democracy and the struggle for good governance in Nigeria”.