- INEC, Parties In Face-off Over REC’s Re-deployment
- Labour Shutdown Aviation Activities In Imo
With barely 48 hours before the gubernatorial election kicks off in Imo State, there is growing tension in the state over the refusal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to redeploy the Resident Electoral Commission (REC) in the state, Prof Sylvia Agu.
While the opposition parties in the state, led by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have continued to call for his removal, the electoral umpire has maintained that there is no reason to remove the official.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, on Tuesday, alleged that Agu has shown sympathy towards the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
The party questioned Agu’s impartiality and expressed doubts about her ability to ensure a fair and unbiased electoral process in the state.
Similarly, the candidates of the PDP Samuel Anyanwu; and Labour Party (LP), Athan Achonu, Tuesday, staged a walkout at a stakeholders’ meeting organised by INEC, after they demanded the redeployment of Agu.
Last Sunday, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, redeployed Mohammed Barde as the Commissioner of Police in Imo State for “neutrality sake” following demands by the Organised Labour that Barde was complicit in the attack on the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero.
However, INEC has refused to do the same with Agu.
“The REC will conduct the election,” said Rotimi Oyekanmi on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday.
Oyekanmi, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, noted that there was no reason to remove the REC, adding that complaints against Agu were based on suspicion.
He said, “We don’t have any reason to remove her from there and we don’t have any evidence that implicates her or proves any allegation that is being alleged at this time.”
“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,” Oyekanmi stated.
He assured the political parties in the election that INEC would be fair and unbiased.
“The assurance we are giving to all political parties is that we are not going to allow any pandering towards any interest in this election; our interest is to conduct free, fair and credible elections,” Oyekanmi said.
He added that the electoral umpire has deployed nine additional RECs and two national commissioners to each of the three states where governorship elections will hold on November 11, 2023.
The spokesperson for the INEC chair said 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.
The official also said 46,000 staff of the commission have been deployed to the three states while sensitive and non-sensitive materials including Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines have been delivered in the three states.
Oyekanmi said there was no reason to doubt the capacity of security agencies, assuring voters that the Result Viewing Portal (IReV) would work on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the aviation sector was shut down in the state on Wednesday following the ongoing strike action declared by organized labour.
Various unions in the aviation industry on Wednesday directed the withdrawal of all flights to Owerri, Imo State, from all airports across the country over the brutalization of Ajaero.
In response to the directive for shutdown, the aviation unions, including the National Union Of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots And Engineers (NAAPE), in a joint statement on Wednesday, suspended flights to Imo.
The joint statement, signed by the General-Secretaries of the unions, including Comrades Ocheme Aba, NUATE, Frances Akinjole, ATSSSAN, Abdul Rasaq Saidu, ANAP and Umoh Ofonime, NAAPE, also declared Governor Hope Uzodimma persona non grata in all airports.
Parts of the statement read, “Following the escalation of the imbroglio created by the mayhem unleashed on workers by the Imo State Government of Hope Uzodimma and the continued insensitivity of the Government over the matter, and in compliance with the directive of the joint NEC session of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), the unions mentioned earlier, being affiliates of NLC and TUC, hereby direct all aviation workers (both public and private) to withdraw all services to all Owerri flights (inwards and outwards) from any airport in Nigeria with effect from midnight of 08/11/2023 (today).”
