Melaye raises concerns over alleged INEC REC nominees who are alleged APC members

Dino Melaye, a former senator from Kogi West, claimed on Tuesday that some of President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominees for the position of resident electoral commissioners are APC members (APC)

In a letter to the Senate dated July 26, President Buhari requested that the upper chamber confirm 19 RECs for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Melaye criticized the President of choosing individuals he described as partisan into the electoral body while speaking in Abuja at a citizens’ election forum on the topic: “What makes a good election in Nigeria.”

He also claimed that the development had left his party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) disappointed.

The senator, who is also the PDP presidential campaign council’s spokesman, noted that the way INEC conducts itself will either make or break the general elections in 2023.

“As a party, we made some complaints that some names mentioned as Resident Electoral Commissioners as nominated by Mr President are card-carrying members of the APC.

Read also: Melaye describes Wike, others as ‘democratic autocrats’ for insisting Ayu must go

“Some of them even participated in open APC activities as nominees for the REC for some states. That is the complaint of my party. If that is rectified, then we must quickly appoint REC because it will boost the confidence of the electorates and show the seriousness of the entire system for the 2023 general elections,” Melaye said.

The PDP chieftain reminded INEC that elections are a process and urged it to become more aware of its duties in front of the elections scheduled for next year.

He said that despite how important their roles might be during elections, Nigerians are concerned that of the 36 states, RECs have not been appointed to 19 states.

The former lawmaker also criticized the present administration for delaying the nominations’ assignment to their appropriate areas.

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