News about the demise of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu has been debunked as untrue.
Mr Yakubu is reportedly “alive, hale and hearty,” according to the Commission’s Chief Press Secretary, Rotimi Oyekanmi.
In a statement Saturday in Abuja, Oyekanmi said the Commission’s “attention has been drawn to a fake news narrative circulated by a section of the social media claiming the purported death of the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu at a London hospital.”
According to him, the story first appeared on Monday, December 9.
“We hereby appeal to the public to disregard the rumour. Prof. Yakubu is alive, hale and hearty.
“In fact, he has not travelled to London in the last two years. He attended an interactive meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters on Wednesday, December 11.
“He also chaired the Commission’s meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners on Thursday, December 12. Both events were widely covered on television and reported on the front pages of most newspapers yesterday, Friday, December 13.
“The public may recall that mischief-makers on social media carried a similar fake story in 2021. Three years later, they are spreading the same rumour again.
“Those who indulge in this practice, as well as those who spread it, should be mindful of its effect not only on the individual but also the wider society.
“The Commission will continue to work with genuine media professionals to combat the scourge of fake news and the danger it poses to society,” he stated.
Mr Yakubu is fairly unpopular among Nigerian opposition groups, which accuse him of compromising in conducting the 2019 and 2023 elections. Independent observers adjudged the elections below internationally accepted standards of credibility.
He was appointed into office on November 9, 2015, by then-President Muhammadu Buhari.
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