Insecurity: Confusion As APC Governor Tackles INEC Over 2023 Election Dates Announcement
- Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi state has disagreed with INEC over the announcement of the 2023 election dates
- The INEC's chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, had on Wednesday, April 28
- Umahi, however, berated the electoral body for talking about the election amid insecurity in the country
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David Umahi, Ebonyi state governor, on Friday, April 30, attacked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for announcing the dates of the 2023 general elections amid the security challenges in the country.
The Punch reports that the chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, announced this on Wednesday, April 28, at a one-day public hearing on the National Electoral Offences Commission (Establishment) Bill 2021.
Legit.ng gathered that Umahi spoke while handing over vehicles procured by the state government to the security agencies and the Ebube-Agu, southeast security outfit at the governor’s lodge, Abakaliki.
He said it was unfortunate that the electoral umpire was talking about the election when the country was at a crossroads.
Umahi said:
“The nation is quite challenged now. It is not a matter of Mr. President or governor. All leaders must take responsibility at this stage because it is not what you preach in the public that is the issue when we are confronted with a decision that we must secure the future of our children. What do you do with that?”
The spokesperson for the INEC chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, however, said the date for the 2023 general election was based on the principle that INEC established back in 2018.
He said the commission decided that in order to engender certainty, adding that the general election in Nigeria would always take place on the third Saturday of February of the election year.
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the INEC announced that the next general election would hold on February 18, 2023.
It was reported that Yakubu made this known while speaking at a public hearing on the ‘National Electoral Offences Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2021’ on Wednesday, April 28, in Abuja.
He noted that the timetable and schedule of activities for the election should be released after the Anambra governorship election scheduled to hold on November 6.
Source: Legit.ng