The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reacted to calls for the redeployment of its Resident Electoral Office (REC) in Imo State, Professor Sylva Agu.
Politics Nigeria reports that candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Samuel Anyanwu; and Labour Party (LP), Athan Achonu, on Tuesday, staged a walkout at a stakeholders’ meeting organised by INEC, after they demanded the redeployment of Agu just as the police redeployed the state commissioner.
But speaking with ChannelsTV on Wednesday night, chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, disclosed that there no basis for such call.
“The REC will conduct the election,” he said, adding that complaints against Agu were based on suspicion.
“We don’t have any reason to remove her from there and we don’t have any evidence that implicate her or prove any allegation that is being alleged at this time,” he said.
“The commission takes its responsibility seriously and we don’t joke with the conduct of elections, and when there are complaints against our officers, we also don’t joke with complaints but you must provide evidence that our officers are culpable.”.
He noted that INEC took disciplinary actions against its RECs in Abia, Sokoto and Adamawa states during the general elections earlier in the year when they acted outside the provisions of the commission.
“As far as we are concerned, we haven’t seen anything to implicate the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Imo State,” he said.
He assured the political parties in the election that INEC will be fair and unbiased.
