The Senator Nenadi Usman-led Labour Party (LP) has urged the newly appointed Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, to place the interest of Nigerians above political influence as he assumes office.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Tony Akeni, the party said Prof. Amupitan faces a defining moment — to either restore faith in Nigeria’s democracy or “further mutilate and bury its corpse,” which it claimed was left behind by his predecessor, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.
Akeni noted that the new INEC boss has “a fate larger than life” before him and must decide whether to serve the will of over 230 million Nigerians or the “unconstitutional wishes and caprices of one man” — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who appointed him.
“To help him make that choice, Prof. Amupitan will do well to reflect on how Nigerians at home and abroad will forever remember his immediate predecessor, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood,” Akeni stated.
The party also challenged Amupitan to immediately prove his independence by removing the name of Julius Abure and his “defunct council members” from INEC’s portal and replacing them with the Nenadi Usman-led executive, which it said was duly submitted in line with the Supreme Court’s ruling affirming parties’ right to determine their leadership internally.
Akeni emphasized that the move would uphold both national and international administrative standards, which frown upon leadership vacuums in institutional management.
“As Prof. Amupitan steps into the shoes of his predecessor, he must realize that the eyes of Nigerians, the international community, and emerging democracies around the world are fixed on him — to see whether he will rise as a reformer or fall as a pawn,” the statement added.
Comments