According to a report from Punch, Akin Osuntokun, the Director General of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, has called for the immediate removal and prosecution of the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, due to his alleged involvement in the 2023 presidential elections.
Osuntokun also demanded a thorough forensic investigation into the financial activities of INEC, including expenditures and donations received before, during, and after the elections. He made these demands during an international press conference held at the party’s campaign headquarters in Abuja on Thursday.
“We unequivocally demand the immediate dismissal and prosecution of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, as well as the initiation of a forensic financial investigation into the budgeted disbursements, donors’ funds, and the N300 billion allocated from the national purse, along with other funds and materials received from international donor agencies,” he stated.
This development arises just five months after the February 25 election, where the commission declared Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, as the winner. Tinubu secured 8,794,726 votes, defeating the candidates from the Peoples Democratic Party and Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, who received 6,984,520 votes and 6,101,533 votes, respectively.
Both Atiku and Obi rejected the election results, holding separate press conferences where they alleged violence and widespread rigging. Consequently, both candidates approached the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal seeking redress.
Osuntokun, in response to the ongoing court case, informed journalists that the evidence provided by the PDP and LP had confirmed their initial suspicions of irregularities in the election. He called for appropriate actions to be taken against Festus Okoye, the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, as well as other high-ranking administrative and field staff implicated in the alleged misconduct.
Furthermore, Osuntokun warned against any further intimidation of the European Union and other election observers regarding their reports on the election. He criticized the negative reactions from the spokesperson of the APC administration and other individuals, stating that their response contradicted the prevailing sentiment in the nation. He urged the international community to take prompt and necessary punitive measures against Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Barrister Festus Okoye, and other INEC staff involved in the alleged manipulation of the elections.
Osuntokun also advised those responsible for organizing protests at the EU offices in relation to their election report to cease wasting public funds. He argued that their attempts at intimidation were baseless and ineffective since the irregularities in the election were apparent to the majority of Nigerians, who had bitter personal and reported experiences during the process.
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