Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, on Saturday cast aspersions on the integrity of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, saying his political ties could not guarantee success in the 2023 general elections. 

After casting his ballot in the ongoing gubernatorial elections, Mr Amaechi told reporters that Mr Yakubu could not have apolitically chaired the electoral commission in the interest of the Nigerian people because of the political machinations that facilitated his appointment and his prior ties to prominent characters with interests in the elections.

“There are those of us who opposed the reappointment of Mahmood [INEC chairman]. The person who nominated him for appointment is a member of Tinubu’s camp. So what are you expecting? Success?” he asked rhetorically. “Here in Rivers state, Mahmood worked under Wike as executive secretary of TETFUND,” he added. 

Mr Amaechi also lamented the compromise that currently elected officials had imposed on the elections and the institutions that facilitates them. 

The former governor of Rivers claims that the election is biased because of the partisan participation of the electoral commission and the security agencies that help them in the process. 

“APC, SDP and others are contesting election not against PDP; against INEC, against police,” he said.