By Taiye Odewale Abuja
Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday began the screening of Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) nominees forwarded by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Senate for confi rmation. Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang, who formally presented the nominees to the committee, appealed to the committee chaired by Senator Suleiman Nazif (APC Bauchi North) to fast track the process, saying some “states have been vacant for a long time, if this is not addressed urgently, we may have a constitutional crises on our hands”.
In his opening remarks, Nazif said was committed to contributing towards free, fair and credible polls that would “refl ect the will of the people, and not the will of a few big men.” One of the nominees, Prof. Godswill Obioma from Abia state, fi elding questions from the committee members, expressed commitment to adhere to the code of conduct and ethics required of a REC. “We have to be independent of any partisan relationship, ensure equity, transparency and honesty, adhere to constitutional provisions regarding INEC and its Act,” he said.
