Mantu Election Rigging Confession Place Him On A Hot Seat

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Mantu Election Rigging Confession Place Him On A Hot Seat

Transition Monitoring Group, TMG, has reacted to the confession by a former Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, that he rigged election for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the past.

The organisation also supported plans by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to monitor the source of funds for campaigns by political parties and thwart the influence of illicit campaign monies in the electoral process.

Its Chairperson, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, in a statement, said: “As we wait for Senator Mantu and his co-travelers in the business of rigging elections to discharge their moral burden, we call on all stakeholders to be vigilant as the 2019 electoral process shapes up.

“He also has a patriotic duty to name all INEC staff, and members of the security agencies who participated in the various schemes aimed at subverting the vote of the people.

“While some may argue that those issues are in the past now, proper repentance and restitution implies that all those involved have to account for their actions.

“TMG makes no mistake about the fact that there are still vestiges of die-hard election riggers, who unlike Senator Mantu, may just not be ready to confess their infractions on the laws of the land.”

Akiyode-Afolabi said Mantu’s confessions deserve a deeper scrutiny from the authorities, if Nigerians were to get a sense of closure from the terrible events of the recent years, when politicians subverted the democratic choices and aspirations of Nigerians by corrupting the electoral process.

According to her, Mantu’s confession goes to the heart of the problem of morally bankrupt political leadership, which has been the cog of Nigeria’s nation building, since the return of democracy in 1999.

“The last time we checked, using bribes to tamper with the electoral process and all actions undermining the vote of the people, are crimes punishable by the extant laws of the land.

“Sections 124 and 130 of the Electoral Act 2010, as amended make it punishable offences for anyone to pay or receive bribes to influence the outcome of elections.”

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Why INEC Cannot Investigate Mantu - Osaze-Uzzi

​BREAKING NEWS

Why INEC Cannot Investigate Mantu - Osaze-Uzzi

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has explained why it cannot investigate a former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, who recently confessed to rigging previous elections in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The Director of Publicity and Voter Education, Mr. Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, spoke in a chat with Punch.

“if any security agency sends a report to the commission regarding Mantu’s claim, then INEC will take action. We are not an investigative body. We can only prosecute when investigation had been concluded”, he said.

“The security agencies have to investigate first and when they have concluded their investigation, they will send the case files to us and if there is a case that has been established, we will prosecute.”

“For now, we don’t regard the telecast as an admission of crime until we receive a complaint following which we would invite Mantu and interrogate him”.

Meanwhile, a coalition of civil society groups, OurMumuDonDo, led by Charly boy, on Friday demanded the prosecution of the former Senate President.

In a letter to INEC chairman, Yakubu Mahmood, the coalition demanded that Mantu be arraigned for allegedly “subverting the will of the people during several elections.”

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