A former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, has asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to review the recent appointment of Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).
Speaking in an interview on Channels Television on Monday, Jega said Nigerians who are partisan should not be appointed as INEC RECs.
Recall that in October, Tinubu asked the senate to confirm 10 INEC REC nominees.
Etekamba Umoren, an ally of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, was among 10 nominees the president recommended for confirmation.
In 2015, Umoren, ex-Secretary to the State Government (SSG) of Akwa Ibom was named for alleged financial malpractice when Akpabio was grilled by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The other nominees are Isah Shaka Ehimeakne (Edo), Oluwatoyin Babalola (Ekiti), Abubakar Ahmed Ma’aji (Gombe), Shehu Wahab (Kwara), Bunmi Omoseyindemi (Lagos), Aminu Kasimu Idris (Nasarawa), Mohammed Sadiq (Niger), Anugbum Onuoha (Rivers), and Abubakar Dambo (Zamfara).
In November, the upper legislative chamber confirmed the nominees despite petitions against some of them.
Speaking on the development, the former INEC chairman said it is not too late for the president to review the appointment so as to remove the partisan ones.
His words: “My advice is to immediately review the appointment of resident electoral commissioners that were passed by the senate recently.
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“Not only does it send the wrong signals about the government’s integrity to improve the electoral process, it also suggests that there is indifference to protecting the independence and impartiality of the electoral body.
“I want to believe that Mr. President was misinformed or rarely furnished with the necessary details. With regards to these appointments, review them and it is not too late.”
Speaking on the 2023 elections, Jega said the country made some improvements in the conduct of the poll, especially with the use of technology.
The former INEC boss said the country has not witnessed any improvement in the “reckless” attitude of most Nigerian politicians.
According to him, majority of the politicians have a “do-or-die” attitude towards the electoral process, noting that the “recklessness” is affecting the country’s elections
“If there is an area where not much has changed, it is the mindset in which most politicians engage with the electoral process.
“There are good politicians but they are few. Majority of them, I regret to say, are desperate. They engage with the mindset of either I win or they pull the roof down on everybody.
“We have also seen recklessness in the way politicians mobilise money and got to the polling stations very brazenly and openly,” Jega added.
