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INEC’s credibility to deliver acceptable elections in future doubtful – Lawyer

Reactions have continued to trail the February 25 presidential and national assembly elections, with Chief Maurice Efobi, a legal luminary based in Onitsha, Anambra State, saying it is likely that voter apathy may set in the March 11 gubernatorial elections in some states of the federation.

He hinged his position on what he described as the abysmal performance of the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in the just concluded presidential polls.

Expressing his regrets, he said this is perhaps the first time the lame, blind, the sick, the young, the old and indeed all Nigerians, cutting across ethnic, religious and tribal divide trooped out with high level of enthusiasm to choose a President of their choice but ended up being disappointed by INEC, which threw its integrity into the wind.

At his law chambers in Onitsha, Efobi, a one-time Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA Idemili branch, told reporters that what he experienced in the recent poll was quite embarrassing and disappointing despite all the firm promises given to the electorate, INEC still went ahead to declare a false result, hence dashing the hope of our youths who had yearned for a president with good programmes targeted at resuscitating the dwindling fortunes of the country.

He alleged that the image of the judiciary was already battered while the peoples’ confidence had been eroded, to the extent that people are still going to court because they don’t have any other alternative.

He advised Peter Obi to go ahead with his legal battle just in case the trial judges would prefer to write their names in gold this time around.

According to Efobi, “The law demands that as a public servant, INEC Chairman, Yakubu Mahmoud should give an account of how he spent over N300 billion taxpayers’ money given to him to procure electronic devices and conduct a credible and transparent election which he allegedly ended up in the opposite direction.

“Henceforth, anyone going to vote in future elections, starting from the forthcoming governorship and state assembly elections would think twice because Nigerians have lost confidence in INEC to ever conduct credible elections in Nigeria.”

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