More Problems For INEC With Appointment Of Politicians As REC – Falana

By Ayodele Oni

Femi Falana, SAN, has accused the federal Government of compounding problems of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with the appointment of political parties card carrying members as Resident Electoral Officers.

There are strong allegations, with pictorial evidence,  which show that Dr Anugbum Onuoha, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Rivers State is a full member of the ruling APC.

In a photograph, he was seen wearing a Tee-shirt bearing the photographs of FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, and that of the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara. They were on a campaign for the election of Fubara as Governor.

Also, the nominee for Akwa Ibom State, Sir Etekamba Umoren, is a card carrying member of the APC, and was, allegedly, Chief of Staff to Senate President, Godswill Akpabio from 2015-2019.

Falana pointed out that conducting  credible elections in such a situation would further be complicated.

Falana, who was a guest on Channels Television, was commenting on the newly-appointed INEC RECs confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday and Thursday.

He said: “Successive regimes in Nigeria, Yar’Adua’s regime, Jonathan’s regime, and Buhari’s regime have all set up electoral reform committees or panels to make recommendations that will assist the government to have credible elections.

“In the case of President Tinubu as a leader of the ACN, he set up a committee for electoral reforms to campaign for the implementation of the recommendations of the Uwais Panel and one of them is that we must have independent umpires in every particular material.

“You can’t have a card-carrying member of a political party or a loyalist of a political party to be a Resident Electoral Commissioner or a national commissioner; you complicate the problem for INEC to have credible elections.”

Following the appointment of 10 new RECs for INEC by President Tinubu, Civil Society Organisations and some other Nigerians raised alarm about some of the appointees, who were said to have political affiliations, asking the Senate not to confirm them. However, the Senate confirmed all the nominees as RECs.

Falana, who said three of the appointees are members of the All Progressives Congress, while one is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, condemned their confirmation by the Senate.

He disclosed that the PDP in Akwa Ibom State has gone to court to challenge the appointment of Mr Etekamba Umoren, who was a former Chief of Staff to the Senate President,  Godswill Akpabio, an APC chieftain in Akwa Ibom State as the REC for the state.

According to the SAN, the appointment of three other RECs should be challenged in court.

He also added that if the Courts prove that these appointments are illegal, then their Senate confirmation cannot legitimize them.