Nigerians deserve explanation from INEC on server controversy

Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, the second republic presidential adviser, has spoken about the controversy that surrounded the 2019 general elections, saying the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) owes Nigerians an explanation on the polls.

From our reports, Yakassai said part of the complains of the European Union about the polls was that the parties were too many and counter-productive to guarantee credible elections. He stated that an election can be free, fair and but in the end, not credible; not transparent, adding that there are things that were not done during the 2019 polls in the country.

He said:”There are four critical issues in any election. Therefore, an election can be free, fair and but in the end, not credible; not transparent. “What the European Union observers said is that the election was an aspect of the election but that the critical ones were not done credibly.

There are four critical issues in any election. Therefore, an election can be free, fair and but in the end, not credible; not transparent. “One is in Nigeria, the election was free because nobody was forced by law to register or to cast his vote. It is free for everybody to vote or not to vote; to register or not to register. That in a sense, the election was free. Two, election is fair if it is competitive; that is if it is not a one-party election. In Nigeria, there is a multiple party system.

“In fact, part of the complaint by the EU is that the parties were too many and counter-productive to guarantee credible elections. So, to that extent, the election is fair because it is competitive, but it is not credible. To have a credible election, the counting of votes must be credible.

“The collation of results must be credible. The process of collation must be credible; the declaration of results must be credible. If any of the four steps is not credible, then the election is not credible. A transparent election is a situation where everything is done in the open; nothing is done behind the scene.

“In our elections, there are things that are not done in the open. So, the 2019 general election was no exception.”

Breaking Times reported that Nigeria’s elder statesman, Tanko Yakasai, said the ruling APC may be rooting for the party’s national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, or vice president Yemi Osinbajo to take over from Buhari in 2023.

Yakasai said he was sure of an unwritten understanding that the presidential candidacy of the APC would shift to the southwest and have Osinbajo or Tinubu flying its ticket.