By Aideloje Ojo
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Niger state Chapter has called for the immediate redeployment of the Niger state resident commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Dr. Emmanual Onucheyo, for his romance with the state government and getting financial inducement of N44.5million in the name of organising National Inter-Agency Advisory Committee on Voter-Education and Publicity (NICVEP)
The party stated this yesterday in a statement issued in Minna by its state publicity secretary, Mr. Jonathan Vatsa.
He said: “Niger state APC has observed with dismay the way and manner the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) in Niger State, which is supposed to be an umpire in the game of politics has turned itself to a parastatal of the Niger State Government.”
But in a shift reaction, Onucheyo said he did not request or collect any money from the state government as claimed by the party.
He stated that he only forwarded a letter from INEC headquarters from Abuja for the constitution of NICVEP to the state government for action and did not demand for monetary assistance in that respect.
The Niger state government through the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Saidu Kpaki, also absorbed the REC of involving in any financial dealing with the government.
He stated that the letter from INEC headquarters had directed on the membership composition of the committee which having been inaugurated requested for N44.5 million for state wide mobilisation of the electorates, adding that the amount was however pruned down to N28.7 million and approved by the state executive council.
The APC in the statement had argued that the continued romance of the Resident Electoral Commissioner with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led government in Niger state was a clear demonstration that he lacked the credibility to conduct free and fair elections.
The state publicity secretary accused the REC of collaborating with the PDP government in the state to prepare the ground for the rigging of the forthcoming bye-election of the Niger East Senatorial District following the refusal of INEC to communicate to the opposition parties the change in date for the commencement of the distribution of permanent voter cards.
He said the ploy was to deny members of the APC the opportunity of having the permanent card and by extension disallow them from voting in future elections, especially the forthcoming Senatorial by- election.
“APC, therefore, calls on the INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, to immediately redeploy him from the State before the forthcoming Niger East Senatorial elections as the only way to guarantee free and fair elections in the state.”
