Senior staff members of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have demanded the sacking of Professor Mahmood Yakubu as the chairman of the commission.
They accused the chairman of neglecting the welfare of staff and prioritizing his own welfare through awards of contracts that allegedly benefit him.
In a letter addressed to President Bola Tinubu by “Concerned Staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Nationwide,” they advised the president to immediately sack him as national chairman of INEC.
The letter, which was sent to THE WHISTLER by senior personnel of INEC who claimed to have attended some of the meetings where the staff debated the issues, called the attention of President Tinubu to 10 issues they’re aggrieved about.
They described Prof Yakubu as “a tyrant” who “sees staff as slaves” with no right to complain, and stressed that the system has become “rotten due to the leadership style of Prof. Yakubu Mahmood.”
The INEC chairman is also accused of refusing to implement the Review Duty Tour Allowance (DTA) and the 40% Peculiar Allowance to staff approved by former President Mohammad Buhari since September 2022.
The staff said they would also not benefit from the Federal government approved 35% for all federal workers to cushion the effect of subsidy removal, because “He will say there is no money.”
They claimed that the INEC chairman’s promise to increase Electoral Hazard Allowance at a meeting with staff in November 2022 was not fulfilled.
Part of the letter reads: “Prof Yakubu Mahmood has also turned the Commission into a one-man show, no Commissioner can approach him. He takes critical decisions alone without the input from other Commissioners thereby seeing himself as a god.
“Prof Yakubu Mahmood does not allow staff to air their grievances as there is no medium or mechanism to address them.
“There is serious financial misappropriation by Prof. Yakubu Mahmood as he concentrates mainly on contracts that will benefit him. Relevant authorities such as EFCC and ICPC can be invited to check INEC financial record for confirmation.”
The staff stated they could no longer wait for the end of his second tenure in November 2025 as many of their colleagues had died due to neglect of staff welfare matters.
In conclusion, the staff stated “We the entire staff of INEC are disappointed over the leadership style of Prof. Yakubu Mahmood and we hereby passed a “vote of no confidence” on him. “WE WANT HIM TO GO NOW SINCE STAFF WELFARE MATTERS IS CRITICAL TO ANY CREDIBLE ELECTION” We are tired of Prof. Yakubu Mahmood’s abuse of office.
“We humbly request Presidential intervention in this matter so that the situation will not go out of hand as the INEC Staff may not want to go on mass protest over neglect of staff welfare matters occasioned by the abuse of office leader by Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, Hon. Chairman, INEC.”
Explaining why the staff chose to write a letter to the president on the issues, a deputy director in the commission said INEC has no labour union as it is not allowed.
“Those who tried to start one two years ago were transferred out of INEC headquarters to different states by the chairman,” he said in a chat with THE WHISTLER.
When THE WHISTLER called Rotimi Oyekanmi, chief press secretary to the INEC chairman on Tuesday, he said he was at a meeting.
But while responding to a text message on the letter, he said, “I heard about it but I have not seen it.”
