Electoral Commissioners: PDP kicks against Buhari’s nominees

The Peoples Democratic Party has rejected President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominees from some states as Resident Electoral Commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Saturday PUNCH can confirm.

Some PDP chieftains, who accused the Federal Government of bias, said they identified some of the nominees as card-carrying members of the ruling party.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, had on Thursday, read a letter from Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, in which he sought legislative approval for the nomination of 27 Nigerians as Resident Electoral Commissioners of INEC. The letter, dated February 27, 2017, and containing the list of the REC nominees, had been transmitted to the Senate in February, while President Buhari was on medical vacation in the United Kingdom.

But the PDP had insisted that the Federal Government and the APC were planning to rig the next general elections in 2019, with the nomination of alleged members of the ruling party.

For instance, the Ogun State factional chairman of the PDP, Bayo Dayo, who condemned the nomination of Agboke as the REC from the state, alleged that the nominee was a known card-carrying member of the APC.

He said, “The name Mutiu Agboke, who was nominated from Ogun State as a REC, and is number 16 on the list, is a card-carrying member of the APC.

“This means that APC wants to be a judge and jury in its own case. This is a 2019 agenda. I want to say these are not just nominations; it is a ploy towards consolidating 2019 polls.”

Punch, March 25, 2017

RipplesNigeria ….without borders, without fears

Click here to download the Ripples Nigeria App for latest updates

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now