TMG raises alarm over INEC plans to upturn Yobe senatorial primary election result

NEWS DIGEST - A non-governmental organisation, Transition Monitoring Group, TMG, has expressed displeasure over plans by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to overturn Yobe North Senatorial election that produced Bashir Machina, a candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

In the poll held on May 28, 2022, the INEC-certified true copy report of the primary election gave that Bashir scored 289 votes out of 300 delegates.

TMG, in a press statement signed by its Chairman, Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), questioned the sanity and sanctity of the rule of law by INEC in its ongoing plans to upturn the result of APC primary for the Senatorial District.

"We are not unaware of the alleged overall objective triggering the latest position by INEC to upturn the primary in favour of the incumbent Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, whose participation in the Senatorial primary has been disqualified by the provisions of Electoral Act, for his involvement at the same time as a candidate of Presidential Primary, where he contested and lost.  

"Just as we are worried by the cross-carpet impunity in some political parties that deliberately reversed victories or allowed dubious re-runs in favour of some candidates who had contested and lost their primaries under separate seats.

"We find the tactical pursuit of injustice and impunity through judicial institution displayed in an Affidavit dated August 11, 2022 filed before the Federal High Court in Damaturu, Yobe state, as tantamount to probable disobedience to the sanity and sanctity of the provisions of Electoral Act and betray of public trust.

"Given the recent development in the electoral sphere, we are more concerned by the readiness of INEC to maintain required competence and neutrality to deliver free, fair and credible elections in 2023.

"We observed with serious condemnation, the deliberately created condition by the Electoral Body to upturn the outcome and victory of a democratically recognized candidate in favour of an individual, who qualifies neither within the context of Electoral Law, nor as a documented contestant in the Senatorial primary.

"We therefore call on INEC to maintain absolute neutrality and respect for the rule of law in its activities at all levels, to demonstrate competence and trustworthiness to secure integrity and public trust in the 2023 general elections.

"We also call for the immediate prosecution by relevant authorities, of all upturned primaries of various political parties in favour of selected candidates, who had been disqualified by the Electoral Act for contesting under separate seats," the statement reads.

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