PDP renews call for removal of Imo REC, Prof Agu, says she’s ‘openly compromised’

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has charged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with the usage of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) during the forth coming governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States.

National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, made this call during a press conference in Abuja on Sunday.

It also demanded that the commission should replace the Resident Electoral Commissioner in charge of Imo State, Prof. Sylvia Agu, to avoid a repeat of the electoral chaos recorded in Adamawa State during the last governorship election.

He said, “The PDP has noted the statement by INEC Chairman that INEC will make full use of its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal for uploading and electronic transmission of results in the November 11, 2023 governorship elections in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi States.

“The PDP has reviewed issues relating to the conduct of the November 11, 2023 elections in the three States and states as follows:

“The PDP notes that the INEC Chairman has confirmed that the use of BVAS and IREV in this election and even in previous election is a mandatory statutory requirement of the law.

Read Also: INEC promises e-transmission of results in Bayelsa, Imo, Kogi governorship elections

“The PDP holds INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu directly responsible and accountable to his pronouncements and that INEC is bound by Law to electronically transmit results directly from the polling units using these technologies.

“The PDP is fully prepared for these elections and in line with the commitment of INEC will not accept any other means of transmitting results in these elections except as this manner pronounced by the INEC Chairman in line with requirement of Electoral Act, 2022.”

On the demand for the sack of the Imo State REC, he said, “The PDP for the umpteenth time demands for the immediate removal of the (alledgedly) openly compromised Imo State INEC REC, Prof. Sylvia Agu.

“The PDP and other political parties had written several letters to INEC. Recently the political parties including the PDP, LP, YPP, ADC, AA among others staged a peaceful protest to INEC demanding for her immediate removal.”

Earlier on Sunday, the Bayelsa Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Obo Effanga maintained that polling unit results will be uploaded on the IReV for the Bayelsa, Kogi, and Imo governorship polls.

“The IReV has come to stay just like the BVAS has come to stay. IReV was first used in 2020 by INEC. It is the INEC result viewing portal. It is a portal where polling unit results are uploaded – photos of the polling unit results. INEC has been doing that since 2020 and will continue to do that,” he said on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics

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