The Atiku-Mutfwang Youth Campaign Council in Plateau State has questioned the integrity of INEC over the transfer of the commission’s staff Engineer Umar Mamuud Muhammad and others formerly working under the APC gubernatorial candidate from the Benue office to the resident office of the commission in Plateau.
Hon Hitler Joshua Pwajok, the Director General of the Campaign Council made this known in a press release made available to journalists on Wednesday 22nd February.
With the General Elections less than 72 hours to commencement, the council said it suspects the commission of engaging in activities that compromise the integrity of the 2023 polls as it calls for the immediate transfer of Engineer Umar Muhammad and his colleagues who were hurriedly deployed to Plateau, out of the state to redeem itself (INEC) as a neutral and unbiased umpire.
The statement further reads:
It is public knowledge that shortly after the conduct of gubernatorial primaries of political parties, especially that of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State which produced Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda, a former Resident Electoral Commissioner of Benue State, presumed to be the anointed candidate of the incumbent Governor of Plateau State Simon Bako Lalong, certain activities columnated leaving many questions desiring answers.
a) Was there an officially approved interstate transfer of staff by the Commission’s Headquarters?
b) If there was, why will INEC be insensitive to redeploy staff of the commission from Benue State to Plateau State, particularly those who served under Dr Nentawe Yilwatda, the APC gubernatorial candidate of Plateau State?
c) Given this concern, has INEC stopped being the unbiased and neutral umpire?
d) Are there interests by the commission which necessitated the transfer of these set of staff that served under Dr Nentawe Yilwatda, their former boss, all to the same state where he is on the ballot?
These deployments by the commission has caused apprehension and raised doubts on the neutrality of the commission.
The Biomodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) is considered the game changer in guaranteeing credible, free, and fair elections in the 2023 polls. Hence, any person or group persons who will superintend over the Department of the commission handling such sensitive gadgets should be seen to be neutral. We are then left with no choice than to ask these further questions.
a) Why should Engineer Umar Mamuud Muhammad be deployed to superintend over the ICT Department of the commission in Plateau State, where his immediate past boss, Dr Nentawe Yilwatda is on the ballot? The same Engineer Umar Mamuud Muhammad who is alleged to be a close ally of the APC gubernatorial candidate. We consider this sudden deployment by INEC as premeditated and preplanned and can compromise the integrity and credibility of the electoral process in Plateau State.
We have also observed with deep concern the activities of certain unscrupulous elements who are going round collecting Voter Identification Numbers (VIN) of unsuspecting voters especially in rural areas which are PDP strong holds in Plateau State. To buttress our concerns, a serving member of the National Assembly and candidate of the APC in the coming election for Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency recently boasted that the APC Gubernatorial Candidate Dr Nentawe Yilwatda in 2019, as a serving Resident Electoral Commissioner in Benue State was instrumental in ensuring that the APC won in Kanke LGA, Dr Nentawe Yilwatda’ home LGA . Could this deployment be an attempt to replicate such on a large scale in PDP strongholds?
Considering these concerns, we hereby demand the following;
i) We call on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately redeploy Engineer Umar Mamuud Muhammad and others who were hurriedly deployed to Plateau, to be immediately redeployed out of the state to redeem itself as a neutral and unbiased umpire.
ii) That INEC as a commission should ensure that all standard protocols be adhered to safeguard the image of the commission.
9. We are ready to monitor and examine the electoral process, the deployment of sensitive and non-sensitive materials, and monitor the performance of all gadgets for forensic review.
10. In conclusion, we therefore demand that INEC exonerates herself by ensuring that the neutrality of the commission is restored, to repose confidence in the process. This will go a long way in restoring assurance that the Commission still has the capacity and capability to conduct credible elections in Plateau State and Nigeria as a whole
