In recognition of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu's commitment to purging the voter rolls in time for the 2023 election, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youths Movement has given Prof. Yakubu a vote of confidence.
The vote on INEC's leadership came after a faction of the Apex Igbo Youth organisation, which operates under the auspices of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, called for the INEC chief to step down last Sunday, claiming he was unprepared and unqualified to oversee free, fair, and credible elections in 2023.
However, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youths Movement asked Yakubu to disregard the call for his resignation made by a segment of the Igbo Youth group after the movement approved a vote of confidence in him. They were labelled as adversaries of the nation's democracy and called for his resignation.
The group claimed to have complete faith in Prof. Yakubu's ability to win the election.
The organisation applauded Yakubu for examining the country's voter register as part of measures to ensure that only legitimate voters participate in the next elections in a statement released by its secretary general on Tuesday in Abuja.
The teenagers praised Yakubu for the action but also urged him to see to it that those responsible for fraudulent registrations were brought to justice.
"As an organisation of young people concerned about the conduct of credible elections in this country, we thank the INEC chairman for his desire to clean the voter register to help ensure confidence-building and credible elections," the statement said.
“We pass a vote of confidence on the INEC boss and ask him to continue his good work as history will be fair to him that he stood his ground when it matters.We salute INEC for their introduction of technological innovation into our electoral system ,
“The confidence of Nigerians in the electoral process was rekindled with Prof. Mahmood’s determination to ensure that 2023 elections is credible ,free and fair .
“We are also calling on him not to stop at the level of cleaning up the vioters register alone. We urge him to ensure the prosecution of all those behind illegal and fake registration, no matter how highly placed.”