By Udora Orizu in Abuja
The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has raised the alarm over an alleged ongoing recruitment of beneficiaries of the federal government’s N-Power as ad hoc staff for the 2019 elections.
It also claimed to be in possession of ‘very reliable information from a credible source that President Muhammadu Buhari’s relative, Amina Zakari will be in charge of the recruitment and training of the Ward/LGA/State Collation and returning officers during the polls.
In a statement issued by CUPP spokesperson, Ikenga Ugochinyere, the coalition alleged that the president wants to use “the beneficiaries of his failed N-Power scheme to technically rig the election.”
“President Buhari has said that the main thrust of the N-Power scheme is to harness Nigeria’s young demography through appropriate skill development, providing a structure for large scale and relevant work skills acquisition and development and linking outcomes to fixing inadequate public services and stimulating the larger economy.
“ Yet, under his administration, Nigeria took over as the nation with the highest number of extremely poor people, with 87 million people in extreme poverty and growing by six people every minute,” CUPP said.
The coalition urged the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, to ensure the credibility of the polls, which he promised Nigerians by making sure that no N-Power beneficiary is recruited as ad-hoc staff in the election, adding that it was clear the so-called beneficiaries are going to be used by President Buhari and his All Progressives Congress (APC) cohorts to rig the elections.
“This administration has failed Nigerians time and time again. It’s clear to them they will lose the election in a free and fair fight, so they are resorting to all manner of ploys to rig the elections, including recruiting beneficiaries of their failed N-Power scheme which has failed to lift Nigerians out of poverty.”
CUPP also called on the INEC chairman to quickly ensure that Amina Zakari is stopped, urging Nigerians, especially civil society organisations and political parties to be vigilant and constantly monitor Zakari not only for the forthcoming elections but to the end of her tenure.
