Buba Galadima, a prominent member of the New Nigeria People’s
Party (NNPP), has recently called
for the removal of Mahmood Yakubu, the
chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Galadima
voiced his concerns during an interview on Channels TV’s Political Paradigm,
accusing Yakubu of undermining the will of the Nigerian people during the last
presidential election.
Galadima went as far as comparing Yakubu’s actions to the
alleged wrongdoings of Godwin Emefiele, the embattled Governor of the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN). He expressed his belief that what Yakubu did was even
worse, claiming that he colluded with certain individuals to subvert the
democratic process. Galadima described this act as the gravest offense one
could commit.
The INEC, under Yakubu’s leadership, has faced heavy
criticism due to its failure to upload election results as promised. The
electoral body attributed this failure to a technical glitch. During a
briefing, the European Union Election Observation Mission expressed its
concerns about the damage caused to public trust in the commission.
Responding to the criticisms, Festus Okoye, a spokesperson
for INEC, defended the commission and emphasized that one glitch in the result
upload for the presidential election should not overshadow the overall
performance of the polls held nationwide. He argued that it would be unfair to
judge the entire commission based on this isolated incident.
During the television interview, Galadima directed his
message to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential Candidate of
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, who have
taken legal action to challenge President Bola Tinubu’s victory. Galadima
suggested that they were wasting their time, asserting that no presidential
election result has been overturned by the courts since 1979.
Galadima questioned the need to spend billions of naira on
legal battles at the tribunal, stating that no politician has succeeded in
court with a presidential petition since 1979. He proposed that instead of
engaging in legal battles, the resources could be better utilized to prepare
for the 2027 general election.
Furthermore, Galadima expressed his belief in the strength of
the NNPP, attributing their underperformance in the last election to the late
registration of the party. He also accused INEC of intentionally targeting the
NNPP by omitting the party’s candidates’ names and logo in some states.
Galadima suggested that without these obstacles, the party could have achieved
better results in the election.
