News
Igini, INEC REC accused by APC of plot to rig Edo guber for Obaseki, responds
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Akwa Ibom State, Mike Igini, on Saturday evening described as outright falsehood the All Progressives Congress’ allegation of connivance with Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, to rig the September 19 governorship election in the state.
He also threatened legal action against those behind the claim.
The party had in a statement issued by the Chairman of its Media Campaign Council, John Mayaki, asked Igini to explain his presence at the Protea Hotel in Benin last week.
Mayaki said: “We have obtained pictures of Mr. Mike Igini at Protea Hotel where visiting National Commissioners of INEC from Abuja were lodged. He apparently went there to run the errands of Governor Godwin Obaseki and the PDP.”
But the Independent National Electoral Commission REC told journalists he was at Isselu-Uku, Delta State, alongside two other persons for the burial of his friend’s mother.
READ ALSO: APC accuses INEC REC of colluding with Obaseki to rig Edo election, claims it has evidence
“We left the burial for Benin on Sunday and stopped over at Protea Hotel to have lunch with full security escort that accompanied us on the trip.
“Thereafter, I went to see an uncle who is a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin, Prof. Andrew Onokeroraye.
“I left Benin for Lagos on Wednesday after seeing other relatives in the town.
“How is it possible for me to see Obaseki on Thursday while I am in Lagos, and I am still in Lagos?
“Since Obaseki became governor, I have never seen him once, I have never met him. This is shameful and embarrassing.
“The man they call Ojezua, I met him during my sent forth party after my tenure as REC in Edo after the 2015 general election, where he and another chairman testified to my integrity.”
Join the conversation
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.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...