ADC berates Tinubu’s ambassadorial list, says Yakubu’s nomination, a stain on INEC’s credibility

……Urges Yakubu to reject his nomination

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s latest ambassadorial appointments, describing the list as a settlement list of political creditors.

President Tinubu had on Saturday unveiled a list of 32 ambassadorial nominees, which contains the names of Mahmooppp Yakubu, immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Femi Fani-Kayode, former Aviation Minister, amongst others.

Bolaji Abdullahi, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, in a statement on Sunday, said it “took particular exception to the nomination of Mahmood Yakubu, the immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)”.

The ADC noted that his “appointment, coming only two years after supervising the election that brought President Tinubu into office, would lend credence to the widespread allegation that the former INEC chief may not have been a neutral umpire in the 2023 election and could further undermine the credibility of INEC.”

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The ADC noted that ” at a time when INEC, Nigeria’s foremost democratic institution, is still mired in a major credibility crisis following the highly disputed and controversial 2023 general election, Prof. Yakubu’s nomination for an ambassadorial position sends a dangerous message.

The party argued that it is in Yakubu’s best interest to reject what it described as a “brazenly insensitive” nomination and urged the Senate to reject it as a measure of restoring confidence in the nation’s electoral process.

“After waiting for more than two years, and with Nigeria’s diplomacy and global perception in historic tatters, President Bola Tinubu presents an outrageously underwhelming ambassadorial list that appears designed to settle his political IOUs rather than fix Nigeria’s urgent international relations crises.”

The ADC stated that this is coming at a time”Nigeria needs a disciplined and credible diplomatic corps, capable of rebuilding the nation’s collapsing credibility on the continent and the rest of the world after two years of thoroughly damaging absence”.

It said, however, President Tinubu has surpassed himself by presenting a “comic cast of political jobbers, corruption suspects, and patronage of wives, children, and relatives of political associates.

” At the heart of this troubling list lies the nomination of Mahmood Yakubu, the immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who conducted the election that brought Tinubu in as President of Nigeria.

The ADC said it views the appointment of Yakubu as “embarrassingly insensitive,” especially coming barely two years after supervising a highly controversial election that ushered in President Tinubu as President and only a few weeks after leaving office as INEC Chairman.

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” This particular appointment of Yakubu blurs what should be a distinct line between players and umpires.

“If allowed to stand, it would set a dangerous precedent where future INEC chairmen and commissioners may begin to see their positions as stepping stones to future political rewards. “Once that mindset enters the bloodstream of our electoral system, neutrality becomes impossible, partisanship becomes inevitable, and elections become transactional.

“We are aware that there is no stipulated “cooling off” period under our laws, but even when the law is silent, ethical standards must be upheld, especially when the situation attacks the very foundation of our democracy.

The party called on Yakubu to do the patriotic thing and reject this appointment for the sake of INEC’s institutional credibility, the integrity of future elections, and the preservation of his own legacy.

” Failing to do so, we call on the Senate to reject his nomination in the interest of our democracy.”

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