Fayose faults Buhari’s choice of Yakubu as new INEC chairman
Fayose, governor of Ekiti
Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has described the appointment of yet another northerner, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu as Chairman the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a vindication of his position that President Muhammadu Buhari is a sectional leader.
The governor said the president still sees himself mainly as leader of the Hausa/Fulani, and not that of the entire people of Nigeria.”
Fayose, who said he had expected that the new INEC Chairman would be chosen from one of the three Southern geo-political zones, especially the South Western part of the country being the only zone yet to produce chairman of the nation’s electoral umpire, posited that; “Nigeria has entered a one chance bus and it remains to be seen who will save the country from its sectional President.”
The governor, in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka that even the Yoruba leaders who promoted and made the Buhari’s Presidency possible had been short-changed.
The governor asked; “Shouldn’t he have considered someone from either South-East, South-South or South-West as Chairman of the Electoral Commission now that we have a President from the North?
“For reasons of perception, equity and fairness, don’t we have
credible people from the Southern part of Nigeria that can conduct credible elections as INEC Chairman? Or do we assume that the 2019 elections have already been won and lost by the appointment of this Hausa/Fulani professor as INEC chairman? Or isn’t it regrettable that even in 2015, it is only in PDP controlled States that elections are being upturned?”
He said he was worried that the three arms of government; namely Executive, Legislative and Judiciary were being headed by northerners, leaving the three zones in the Southern part of the country with nothing.
Speaking further, Governor Fayose said; “When Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was the President, he never appointed a Yoruba man as INEC chairman. Dr Goodluck Jonathan too did not appoint an Ijaw man as INEC Chairman.
“Former President Shehu Shagari too did not appoint a Hausa man like himself as Chairman of the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO).
Rather, he appointed late Justice Victor Ovie Whisky.
“During the Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha regimes, no Hausa/Fulani man was appointed as Chairman of the National Electoral Commission of Nigeria and General Abdulsalami Abubakar who established the current INEC did not also appoint his fellow Hausa man as chairman.
“How then can we have a President from the North and at the same time have INEC Chairman from the Hausa/Fulani Northern Nigeria?
“Obviously, what is being witnessed is more like a situation where it appears the President is more interested in having someone malleable to him than serving the interest of Nigeria and its people.”
Governor Fayose, who described the hurried appointment of the INEC boss as a vindication of his earlier stand that the appointment of Mrs. Amina Zakari as INEC Acting Chairperson was illegal, said all processes leading to the conduct of the Kogi and Bayelsa States governorship election must start afresh.
“It should be recalled that l raised the alarm on the legality of INEC under an Acting Chairman or Chairperson as there was no provision for INEC Acting Chairmanship position in the Constitution of Nigeria.
“I did say in a statement issued on August 9, 2105 that any action taken by INEC with Mrs Zakari as its head will amount to illegality and I urged President Mohammadu Buhari to avoid plunging Nigeria into an avoidable legal quagmire by rescinding immediately, the illegal appointment of Mrs Zakari as INEC Acting Chairperson.
“However, the president chose to wait until decisions were taken by INEC on Kogi and Bayelsa States governorship elections and one begins to wonder how INEC will wriggle itself out of the legal quagmire it has been plunged into by the President’s refusal to heed to the voice of reason,” the governor said.
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21 Comments
Buhari is a tribalist simple. His appointment so far potend danger 4 this country
I can see from your name that you are not a Nigerian. Why do you think you know better about Nigeria than Nigerians themselves?
ask tinubu
Beta for us all now and the days,weeks, months and years ahead.
Biafra here we come. It will be actualized in the course of this admin. Mark my word as he is preparing to secede. Shikena.
The Hausa-Fulani in Buhari is just showing now… in as much as we believe he is an incorruptible man, his lopsidedness has proven him to friend of hausa(s)
Buhari will make nigeria problem to be more worse ,why are one nigeria? Were are the unity? Generations will not forgive british and those who worked with them to perform this fake marriage called nigeria.without considering common man lives,no referendum ,no peoples support ,only selfish interest.
When OBJ (from SW) made prof. Iwu (from SE) the Inec chairman, nobody was shouting about a southern agenda (afterall they are both from the south) but now that PMB (from NW) appointed the new INEC Chairman from NE, wailers are shouting that they are both Northerners. I wonder how long we shall keep this ethnic madness up in this country. While the rest of the world are moving on, we are still playing kindergarten games.
OBJ did not appoint his fellow tribesman.INEC Chair.
And who told you that every Northerner is Hausa. Last I checked, Nigeria’s appointment is more about geopolitical zones of which we have six rather than North/South dichotomy.
Tony Iwu is not a Yourba man. And let us forget about South South. Yourba never accept they are path of Igbos and igbos are not yourbas, We have three region, Northern Eastern and Western. Buhari is a tribal leader and there is no way we can forget about tribal sentiments because tha tis what is ruling Nigeria. Dont make reference to the western world. United Kingdom speaks one language. American speaks one language. Dutch speaks one language. But that is not the issue with Nigeria. When you live in Kano, and have misunderstanding with Hausa man he tell you openly this is not your place.
Yourba man will tell you this is not your land. Igbo will tell Hausa or Yourba, this is igbo land. So what are u talking. Fayose has given you names of those who were appointed as NEC Chairman by previous head of state.
Present from the North
Speakers from the North
Senate President from the North
Chief Justice of federation from the North.
INEC chairman from the north.
God has ordained fayose to speak the truth and expose those unrighteous acts by the new administration. somebody should advice Buhari on what to do so that he would not turn this country into hausa/fulani kingdom
Gov Ayo Fayose, the Moses of our time, the lone voice in the wilderness. What a heavy cross to bear at a time like this, of great persecution in the land when your colleagues are wineing and dinning with long or short spoon and the masses look helplessly and hungrily having complained until their voices are hoarse or having resigned to fate. I salute your rare courage and pray that you be lifted up high and used mightily to save the people by the Most High like the Biblical Moses.
Are you sure of what you saying about fayose because if you do then you must be his followers
Talking just for the sake of Talking! Governor Fayose needs to redefine how he wants to play the opposition game.
the current NASS is just a rubber stamp assemby.
Gov. Fayose is on point
Fayose should stop complaining and join the new Nigeria, where it does not matter where you come from to be useful to us all.
Some of you are just dump, deaf and blind in one room. What Fayose is saying is very correct but because u are all blinded with sentments and a strong supporter of APC, you see it as a mere saying. He is correct. Buhari is a dictator and a tribal leader. Any of you who have ears can hear.
Fayose is just using the tribal sentiments in a desperate bid to win supporters for his dubious cause. Damn him.
I support Governor Ayo Fayose’s positon on this issue and I commend his candor for confronting this display of parochialism that does not augur well for Nigeria’s true democracy.This should not be era of winner takes all.The President should be above board and should strive to carry everybody along.It is immoral to display nonchalance to fairplay and decency
Fayose and his co lieutenant should bear in mind that not where INEC Chairman/Chairperson come from that matters, but the one that’s people representatives. That’s what we want.
We will review and take appropriate action.