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Former presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu said Nigeria has achieved a transparent electoral process under new Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, but questioned why the electoral umpire boss has not come out to celebrate the feat after last Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State.
In an X post on Tuesday, Shehu said he had opposed Amupitan’s nomination over a 2020 legal brief that described violence in Nigeria as “a Muslim pogrom against Christians.”
He said, “Where is Professor Amupitan? I don’t know him, and we never met. I have no reason to wish to meet him, either. When they nominated him as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the nation received the shocking disclosure of his 2020 legal brief to the international community in which he claimed that the violence in the country was a Muslim pogrom against Christians.
“The violence affected and still affects followers of all religions and speakers of every language. For this reason, I, among many others, felt bad about the assertion he made and assumed that he was not a good choice for that office.”
Despite his doubts, Shehu praised the conduct and transparency of the recent Osun governorship election.
“Now, look at what has just happened in Osun state. Under Amupitan’s leadership, the country has attained a transparent electoral process. Everyone – civil society, the EU, local and foreign observers are commending this standout performance, praising the exceptional skill and determination to improve the process as manifested by INEC’s seamless uploading of the governorship election results to its IReV,” he said.
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Shehu asserted that the nation’s elections had incrementally got better with each new leadership.
“Professor Jega gave the nation its best election since the disputed June 12, 1993… Professor Mahmud Yakubu did the impossible by rallying the civil society, CSOs, and local and foreign observers to approve all his elections. Not one election under him was ever rejected by any serious observer or CSO,” he said.
But Shehu said he was surprised by Amupitan’s silence 48 hours after the Osun election.
“With all the loud acclaim that followed, however, I have been asking myself, where is the captain of the ship, Professor Amupitan? He hasn’t picked the microphone, 48 hours hence, or appeared before the TV cameras to proudly show off the success. Where is he?
“We are a country of wilful behaviour, chest beating public officials who are proudly and aggressively proclaiming success without achieving half of what we are talking about here. Where is he?
“We are not used to seeing this kind of humility, patience, and restraint. Isn’t it fair that the man should come out of his shell and dance to the drums in celebration?”
