MANY Nigerians are still struggling to readjust their plans after the sudden postponement of the presidential and national assembly elections previously scheduled for Saturday, February 16, 2019, and many say somebody must be held responsible.
Political parties, media organisations, and civil society groups have already threatened to drag INEC to court to press for damages for the costs they had incurred in planning for the botched elections.
The INEC National Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, had explained that the major challenge that led to the rescheduling of the election was that of logistics; movement of electoral materials to the appropriate destinations.
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However, many Nigerians, including President Muhammadu Buhari, are not swallowing Yakubu’s explanation hook, line, and sinker.
At the All Progressives Congress’ caucus meeting on Monday, Buhari pointed out that though INEC enjoys constitutional independence, it must not “take us for granted”, and that after the elections, the commission must explain what exactly led to their show of incompetence on the initially scheduled election date, and who was responsible.
If Yakubu, the INEC Chairman was right that the election was called off due to logistics reasons, then the responsibility falls on the commission’s logistics committee headed by Okechukwu Ibeanu, a national commissioner representing the South East region of Nigeria.
Here are the members of the INEC logistics committee:
Okechukwu Ibeanu
Ibeanu is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). He was the Dean of the University’s Faculty of the Social Sciences and also worked as the special rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
His appointment as an INEC National Commissioner was confirmed by the Council of State in September 2016.
Some APC social media influencers have claimed that Ibeanu is a cousin to Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State and current running mate to the PDP presidential candidate, Abubakar Atiku, but The ICIR cannot independently verify the claim.
Ahmed Tijjani Mu’azu
Mu’azu retired from the Nigerian military in 2012 as an Air Vice Marshal in the Nigerian Air Force,
Before his retirement from the NAF, Mu’azu was the commandant of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) Jaji, Kaduna State, as well as former Air Officer Inspector (AOI) at the headquarters of the Nigerian Air force in Abuja.
Like Ibeanu, he was also confirmed as an INEC commissioner representing the North East geopolitical zone in September 2016.
Adedeji Solomon Soyebi
Soyebi hails from Egbaland in Abeokuta, Ogun State. An educationist, Soyebi worked as a school principal for many years before he joined INEC in 2003.
He was sworn in as INEC commissioner representing the South West region in November 2015. Before then, Soyebi had worked with the commission in different capacities, including as a Resident Electoral Commissioner for Abia, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Kano States.
Mohammed Kudu Haruna
Haruna was appointed an INEC commissioner in September 2016. A journalist with a Masters degree in Journalism from the Columbia University, New York, Haruna was the Managing Director of New Nigerian Newspaper (NNN) between 1985 and 1989.
He also worked as the Chief Press Secretary to the former Head of State and Commander in Chief, General Abdulsalam Alhaji Abubakar.
Muhammed M. Lecky
Lecky, from Edo State, was appointed INEC commissioner in 2015, as one of the representatives of the South-South geopolitical zone. His appointment was announced on the same day as that Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC chairman.
A medical doctor by professional, Lecky was the former Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). However, a report by Sahara Reporters has it that Lecky was accused of corruption while at the NHIS.
According to the report, former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Nuhu Ribadu, accused Lecky of misappropriating funds to the tune of N10.7 billion.
Amina B. Zakari
Zakari is a pharmacist by training and had worked in several government institutions before being appointed an INEC National Commissioner in 2011 by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
She hails from Jigawa State and is representing the North West zone at INEC. Zakari’s appointment as the head of the INEC collation centre for the 2019 election generated heated controversy as many alleged that she is President Buhari’s niece.
But her family promptly explained that Zakari and Buhari have no blood ties. It was clarified that Zakari’s father had married Buhari’s sister, but she died without having any children.