Following their approval by a voice vote in the plenary, the seven RECs’ nominations were confirmed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Wednesday.
The confirmation of seven out of ten recently selected Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by the Nigerian Senate has been met with resistance by Samson Itodo, the Executive Director of YIAGA Africa.
Following their approval by a voice vote in the plenary, the seven RECs’ nominations were confirmed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Wednesday.
Etekamba Umoren (Akwa Ibom), Isah Shaka Ehimeakne (Edo), Oluwatoyin Babalola (Ekiti), Abubakar Ahmed Ma’aji (Gombe), Shehu Wahab (Kwara), Mohammed Yelwa (Niger), and Aminu Idris (Nasarawa) are among those who were cleared by the upper chamber. It is rumoured that some of these individuals are supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Hours after the Senate approved the nominations, Itodo said on Channels Television’s Politics Today that some of the confirmed had political ties.
He criticised the actions of the Nigerian Senate, stating that the people of Nigeria have voiced grievances regarding the people President Bola Tinubu had selected to the electoral body as RECs.
“The constitution is very clear—Section 156 and paragraph 14 of the Third Schedule—so some of those nominees did not meet the test of non-partisanship,” he added.
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“Those we designate to the electoral commission are not allowed to be affiliated with any particular party.” The general public is aware that several of the nominees confirmed today are not only party members; they have also been spotted, and photographs and videos exist to demonstrate their political party campaigning.
In a same vein, Itodo asserted that politicians were fixated on obtaining INEC in order to provide them a political edge.
“Only one thing was said today, and that was that politicians want to take over INEC in order to win elections down the road,” the speaker stated.
“In what way do you anticipate Nigerians’ confidence in the electoral commission’s integrity? if individuals with political inclinations work for INEC.
Due to political concerns, the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) had already advised the Senate not to ratify the nominees as RECs.
The coalition especially requested that the upper legislative chamber reject the nominees from Akwa Ibom and Edo State since they are engaged in partisan activities, as stated in a petition that was jointly signed by 17 CSOs.
The Senate Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman and Senate President both received the petition.
Additionally, they pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to revoke their nomination in the best interests of the public and designate new candidates in accordance with the Federal Character Act and the Constitution.
