INEC Chairman, Mahmood Betrays Nigerians’ Hopes – Crusoe

By Simeon OSAJIE

Mr. Crusoe Osagie, the Special Adviser on Media Project to the Edo State governor, said the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) chairman, Mahmood Yakubu has betrayed the trust of Nigerians for not transmitting results via its Election Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

He said this while responding to questions from Edo NUJ Situation Room, Benin City.

Osagie said those whose hopes were dashed more by the INEC’s chairman are those who are just voting for the first time and that it will take more time to convince them to vote again.

“So, INEC should be held responsible and I dared say that this thing that has happened has damaged the confidence of the average Nigerians as far as election is concerned.

“I am sure that in the next 10 to 15 years, there are some people that will never vote again because of what the INEC has done.

“A lot of young people trooped out in their numbers, they campaigned, they believed in a course, they spent their money but with the stroke of irresponsible behaviour, you just destroyed their hopes.

“I don’t know whether the PDP would have won the national assembly election but I know the people came out very strongly.

“The least you should have done, is to give them their results.

“So, what you have done, is that you have damaged these young people . Whatever was left of the hope they have for the Nigerian system is gone”, Osagie said.

Osagie alleged further that he cannot categorically state that the Peoples Democratic Party candidates for the national assembly elections lost their elections in the February 25 elections rather he suspected that the process was manipulated.

He further advised INEC to practice what it preaches in order to have its name written in gold.

“What we say to INEC in the future is that you have to practice what you preach. And if you are not going to do it, let everybody know. Obviously, some people were aware and so we were shocked.

“We have accepted what happened in Edo South in the sense that we saw that Labour Party came out very strongly to do the protest votes against the APC and by extension, punished our national assembly candidates, we accepted but only later we saw that people were taken over at the Collation Centre and started writing the results and when some people confronted the INEC chairman in Abuja and he started saying different things”, Osagie said.

While speaking on the house of assembly election, Crusoe said that the All Progressives Congress contested the election with the intent of impeaching the governor adding that with the outcome of the results were the PDP is said to be having the highest number of members in the assembly, such idea has been thwarted.

He advised the house of assembly members-elect to put the interest of the people first and make laws that will engender growth in the state.