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Timi Frank lauds Amaechi for revealing those who hired INEC Chairman Yakubu
A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, on Sunday, commended the former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, for revealing those who truly appointed Professor Mahmood Yakubu as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Amaechi had while responding to questions from reporters after casting his vote in Rivers State on Saturday, disclosed that Professor Yakubu was nominated for appointment by a member of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s camp.
Amaechi, according to a video of the interview which has gone viral, said: “What advice? I have spoken to everybody concerned on this issue before the election.
“I have spoken especially to those of us who opposed the reappointment of Mahmood as INEC Chairman.
“The person who nominated him for appointment is a member of Tinubu’s camp. So what are you expecting? Success?
“He said, Mahmood worked under Wike as Executive Secretary of TETFUND when Wike was Minister of State for education”.
“So what you are having in Rivers State is that APC, SDP and others are contesting elections not against PDP but against INEC and against the Police.”
Frank, who is the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Ambassador to East Africa and Middle East, in his reaction to the revelation, thanked the former Governor of Rivers state for his boldness and courage in revealing that Yakubu was installed by Tinubu’s cabal to help rig the election in his favour and that of the APC.
He said that as a former top Minister under President Muhammadu Buhari and a chieftain of the APC, Amaechi was competent and credible enough to reveal those who facilitated the INEC’s job for Yakubu.
Frank said: “From day one, it is clear that the INEC Chairman did not have any good intention to give Nigerians a credible election but to just come and handover.
“He decided to deceive Nigerians and that is why he refused to follow the Commission’s own election guidelines because of the hatchet job he was prepared to do for those who facilitated his appointment into office.
“The INEC chairman needs to be arrested for lying and his refusal to follow the template and guidelines put in place by the commission, an act that is tantamount to criminality.
“The first and second elections were massively flawed by rigging and violence in most of the states.
“The last time we witnessed violence in Nigeria was during the 2011 general election. This election as corroborated by Amaechi, was not a contest between PDP and APC, but a contest between PDP and INEC and security agencies.”
He insisted that because the INEC Chairman owed overwhelming allegiance to Tinubu for appointing him to the job, all he did was to reward Tinubu with votes rather than conduct a free, fair and credible elections.
He said: “That is why the INEC chairman did not come out to conduct any election. He only came to reward Tinubu and the cabal that brought him into office.
“Based on Amaechi’s confession, he only came to reward the people that put him there rather than conduct a free and fair election.
“That is why he gave Nigeria to Tinubu and APC. Then gave Rivers state to Wike as there was no election in the state. He only rewarded his benefactor.
“We believe with this kind of evidence and proof that Amaechi has revealed, the INEC chairman lacks integrity and credibility to remain in office.
“With all of this, he needs to resign and go. Apart from immediate resignation, he should be arrested based on all the crimes he has committed and prosecuted for selling the will of the people to reward those who fought for him to be appointed for a second term in office.”
According to the Bayelsa-born political activist, Yakubu practically conducted the worst and most fraudulent election in the history of Nigeria because of an obligation he owed those who saw to his appointment.
He said the fraud and rigging perpetrated during the election show clearly that Buhari is not only culpable but a partner to the dirty marriage that culminated in the re-appointment of the INEC chairman.
“We expected Buhari to have left a legacy of free, fair and credible elections which he promised Nigerians but what has happened shows that he equally lacks integrity and honour to keep to his words.
“He came and benefitted from democracy peacefully, but turned around to destroy it.
“With this, we call on the international community to help Nigeria because we don’t have confidence in the government of today under Buhari,” he said.
He further called on the international community to urgently take strong measures against election riggers in the country like the INEC Chairman, security chiefs – police and others – that rigged the elections and fraudulently thwarted the will of the people.
He added: “In all of these, with the amount of rigging, intimidation, violence and allocation of votes that characterised the elections, we believe the nation’s Judiciary at the end of the day will be able to redeem our democracy by doing substantial justice to all petitions that would be brought before the courts.”
He prayed God to repose the souls of those who lost their lives as a result of violent attacks during the elections as well as sympathised with those who were injured and their families.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has confirmed that the representatives of the petitioners seeking to recall the Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District have now provided their contact details.
In a statement on Wednesday, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information & Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, said:
“The contact address of representatives of the petitioners, their telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses have now been provided in a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Commission.”
He added that INEC has formally notified the senator about the recall petition.
“As provided in Clause 2(a) of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, a letter has been written to notify the senator sought to be recalled about the receipt of the petition and delivered to her official address,” Olumekun stated.
He further explained that the same letter had been copied to the presiding officer of the Senate and published on the Commission’s website.
Speaking on the next step, Olumekun said INEC would now verify the signatures to ensure that more than 50% of registered voters in Kogi Central signed the petition.
“This will be done in the coming days. The outcome, which will be made public, shall determine the next step to be taken by the Commission,” he said.
Olumekun reassured Nigerians that the recall process would be conducted in an open and transparent manner.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Senate Matters, Senator Basheer Lado, has commended his principal for assenting to South West and South – South Development Commissions Bills as well as the Nigeria Anti – Doping Bill 2025.
Senator Lado who made the commendation in a personally signed statement, described presidential assets to the bills as monumental milestone and testament to visionary leadership and national progress.
The statement reads: “I extend my warmest congratulations to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for yet another historic achievement his decisive and visionary assent to the South-West Development Commission Bill, the South-South Development Commission Bill, and the Nigeria Anti-Doping Bill, 2025.
“These landmark legislations are a clear reflection of President Tinubu’s relentless commitment to inclusive governance, equitable progress, and Nigeria’s emergence as a global powerhouse.
“His Excellency has once again demonstrated that leadership is not merely about policies—it is about impact, legacy, and a deep-rooted dedication to uplifting every citizen.
“By signing into law the establishment of the South-West and South-South Development Commissions, President Tinubu has reaffirmed his role as a transformational leader who prioritizes regional empowerment, economic expansion, and infrastructural excellence.
Building on the foundation of his earlier assent to the South-East and North -West Development Commissions, it is evident that President Tinubu is deliberate in bringing development across all regions.
“These commissions will serve as catalysts for industrial growth, job creation, and social advancement—ensuring that every corner of Nigeria benefits from his administration’s progressive vision. This is the mark of a true statesman—one who understands that a nation’s strength lies in its ability to uplift all regions without bias.
“In the same vein, the Nigeria Anti-Doping Bill, 2025 is yet another bold step that solidifies Nigeria’s commitment to fairness, excellence, and integrity in global sports.
“President Tinubu has once again positioned Nigeria as a nation of high ethical standards, ensuring that our athletes compete on the world stage with honor and credibility. By domesticating the UNESCO International Convention Against Doping in Sports, his administration has safeguarded the future of Nigerian sports, protecting our athletes from unfair practices while reinforcing our global reputation as a country that upholds integrity.
“This momentous occasion underscores President Tinubu’s unmatched leadership—one that is proactive, decisive, and deeply attuned to the needs and aspirations of the Nigerian people.
His ability to enact groundbreaking policies that foster unity, drive economic prosperity, and elevate our international standing speaks volumes of his unwavering dedication to national transformation”.
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BREAKING: Key contact details missing in petition to recall Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan – INEC
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has acknowledged receiving a petition for the recall of the Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District but noted that key contact details of the petitioners were missing.
In a press release signed by Sam Olumekun, the National Commissioner and Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, the commission stated that the petition was submitted with six bags of documents containing signatures from more than half of the 474,554 registered voters in the district.
However, the covering letter only provided a general location, “Okene, Kogi State,” without a specific address or multiple contact numbers as required by INEC’s regulations.
INEC emphasized that the recall process is guided by the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, and its 2024 Regulations and Guidelines for Recall.
The commission assured that once the petition meets all requirements, it will proceed with verifying the signatures using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in an open process involving petitioners, observers, and the media.
INEC is currently making efforts to reach the petitioners through other means and urged the public to disregard speculation on social media regarding the recall process.
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