#NIGERIA DECIDES2023: Why we’ll review general elections – Prof. Yakubu, INEC chair
As the ongoing collation of results for the 25th February 2023 Presidential election almost concludes, the chairman of Nigeria’s electoral umpire, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has finally expressed the Commission’s readiness to review the general elections, Vanguard reports.
According to Vanguard, this new development came in light of the demands made by some political parties at the ongoing collation centre in Abuja.
Recall that the duo of the Labour Party (LP) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had, on Monday, demanded that the election be reviewed midway into the collation of the presidential results. They had based their requests on the failure of the Commission to transmit the election result live.
However, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, initially declined the request.
He had explained that the law governing the election had clearly stated that the collation process had to be completed first before any process for review can be undertaken.
However, at the resumption of the collation exercise on Tuesday, Yakubu said he would stick to the law, as contained under Section 65 of the new Electoral Act.
He said, “In accordance with the new Electoral Act particularly under Section 65 of the Electoral Act, we will review the election where it is absolutely necessary.”
The new position taken by Professor Yakubu represents a significant shift from his earlier position and would give the aggrieved parties more reason to believe their complaints have been heard.
