Former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has taken a swipe at the current Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, suggesting that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) might not have been registered or won the 2015 general elections if Yakubu had been at the helm at the time.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV on Tuesday night, Amaechi, a founding member of the APC, commended former INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, for what he described as a transparent and credible electoral process that facilitated the APC’s emergence as a political force and eventual victory in 2015.
He said, “The current chairman of INEC, if he was the chairman of INEC in 2015, we would not have won. That’s an important point. May God bless (Attahiru) Jega. Because the ground rules were clear. The current chairman of INEC can only be compared to Iwu.
“When we were to register APC, Jega opened the door and we complied with the registration requirements. He got APC registered. The current man, if you comply with all these, he would not register you.”
He further alleged that INEC under Yakubu is already showing signs of bias.
“Already, INEC is biased. So, the only thing I can tell you now is that, looking at the way Nigeria has run the election, even the Option A4 led us forward. At least a lot of transparency. You were sure of what was going on. Then we came back to meet people like Iwu and others and the current one and things got worse.
“So, you don’t know whether to say we are progressing or we are regressing. There’s a state capture using the electoral institution as a machine.”
