Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of partisan conduct after it awarded contracts to companies owned by candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). INEC, through its National Commissioner Festus Okoye, previously denied awarding a sensitive contract to Binani Printing Press Limited, a firm now revealed to be owned by APC governorship candidate in Adamawa State, Senator Aishatu Binani. Okoye argued that the contract to print all security documents for the 2023 general election was intended to support Nigerian printers and boost the national economy.
Responding to INEC’s statement, Atiku, speaking via his Special Assistant on Public Communication Phrank Shaibu, dismissed the commission’s justification as untenable. He noted that despite receiving over N300 billion in allocations and financial assistance from foreign governments—including the European Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom—INEC’s leadership has “continued to run the commission without scruples.” A simple search on the Corporate Affairs Commission’s portal, he said, shows that Senator Binani is listed as the primary director of Binani Printing Press Limited (RC 310024, registered on 13 March 1997), the firm awarded the contract to print sensitive INEC materials.
Atiku warned that Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, INEC’s chairman, appears unwilling to leave a legacy of free and fair elections. With less than a year left in his tenure, Yakubu’s performance, he argued, will be remembered as a failure. “It is funny that INEC claims it awarded the contract to Binani’s company to stimulate the local economy,” Atiku said. “One wonders whether it is the duty of INEC to stimulate the economy or to conduct credible elections.”
The PDP candidate also pointed out that this is not the first instance of INEC awarding sensitive contracts to APC figures. In the lead‑up to the 2019 presidential election, INEC Chairman Prof. Yakubu admitted that the commission awarded a contract to Act Technologies Limited to print Permanent Voter Cards. The company’s managing director, Mohammed Sani Musa, was the APC candidate for Niger East Senatorial District at the time and subsequently won that election. Despite complaints from several political parties, INEC also persisted in using the transport services of Musiliu Akinsanya (MC Oluomo) to move ballot papers across Lagos State on election day.
“At elections are not just supposed to be free and fair; they are expected to be free and fair,” Atiku concluded. “The process and credibility of an election are more important than its result. This latest excuse by INEC for awarding a contract to an APC candidate holds no water and is the height of the commission’s incompetence.”
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