The All Progressives Congress (APC) has opposed the call from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party (LP), and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the resignation of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu. In a counter press conference held on Tuesday, shortly after the opposition parties’ briefing, the APC presidential campaign council asserted that the presidential and National Assembly elections conducted on Saturday were credible.
Festus Keyamo, the spokesman for the APC campaign council, emphasized that it was “legally wrong” to demand changes to the electoral process before the results had even been declared. He noted that the opposition parties had urged President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene and interfere with the electoral process, stating that such demands were not permissible under the law.
During their joint press conference in Abuja, the PDP, LP, and ADC alleged that the February 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections were plagued by violence, rigging, and voter intimidation. They called for fresh elections and requested that INEC Chairman Yakubu step aside. Keyamo, who also serves as the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, argued that the opposition’s requests contradicted the provisions of the Electoral Act. He explained that the results compiled by state returning officers could not be altered by the INEC chairman.
Keyamo further clarified that once the results reached the national collation center, the national chairman lacked the authority to review the actions of the returning officers. He stated that any complaints should have been addressed at the ward, local government, and state levels. According to Keyamo, only the election tribunal has the power to intervene in such matters. Consequently, the APC presidential campaign council urged the aggrieved parties to seek legal recourse if they believed they had valid cases.
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