The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed rumour that its Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has passed at a London hospital in the United Kingdom.
INEC said the fake news narrative circulating on social media appeared on Monday, 9th December 2024.
The commission said Prof. Yakubu is alive, hale, and hearty and has not travelled to London in the last two years.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman, INEC, Rotimi Oyekanmi, made this known in a statement issued on Saturday, December 14.
The statement shared via the INEC X handle (formerly known as Twitter) @inecnigeria, partially reads:
“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 was present at an interactive meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters on Wednesday, 11th December 2024. He also chaired the Commission’s meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners on Thursday, 12th December 2024. Both events were widely covered on television and reported on the front pages of most newspapers yesterday, Friday 13th December 2024.”
According to the statement, a similar fake story was spread 3 years ago about the INEC chairman in 2021.
