INEC Chairman to Join Presidential Race? Commission Clears Air
- INEC has shut down insinuations that its chairman might contest the coming 2023 presidential election
- Nigerians have been joking on social media about the number of persons declaring interest in the presidential race, saying even the INEC boss may declare an ambition
- The electoral commission said Yakubu Mahmood was not interested in President Muhammadu Buhari's seat
The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Yakubu Mahmood, has no plans of joining the 2023 presidential race.
This was disclosed by the electoral commission in a statement shared on its official Twitter handle on Sunday, May 8.
Source: Twitter
Reacting to comments and insinuations in some quarters that Mahmood may just surprise Nigerians by picking the presidential nomination forms, the commission declared that “It will not happen”. It added that it is a preposterous proposition.
The statement partly read:
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"The chairman remains an umpire committed to free, fair and credible elections. His constitutional responsibilities as the Chief Electoral Commissioner of the Federation and Returning Officer for the presidential election are onerous enough for him to even contemplate straying into extraneous matters at variance with the law, morality and his personal principles."
It added that the INEC chairman will keep discharging his responsibilities without being partial to any political party or candidate.
No fewer than 20 people have purchased the presidential nomination forms of the All Progressives Congress (APC) while about 17 people have bought that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
This is despite the high cost as that of the APC is going for a whopping N100 million while that of the PDP is sold for N40 million.
The forms were recently “bought” for the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, and the president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina.
With the number of people declaring their intentions and getting the forms, many Nigerians had joked on social media the INEC boss may also join the battle for President Muhammadu Buhari's seat.
Shehu Sani warns Adesina against joining presidential race
Meanwhile, a former lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani has warned the president of the AfDB against joining the 2023 presidential race.
Sani advised Adesina not to deceive himself into joining the presidential race under the ruling party.
He stated:
"Akinwumi Adesina should not deceive himself nor allow others to deceive him. Remain in that AFDB and ignore that lottery ticket."
Source: Legit.ng
