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Rights groups call for Abia INEC officials’ redeployment

jega-inecFollowing the declaration of the Abia Governorship election inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and a new date chosen for a re-run, Civil Society Organisations in the state have called for the redeployment of some INEC staff they described as corrupt.

In a statement signed by Leonard Onyemeri of Justice Development Peace and Commission (JDPC); Comrade Nelson Nnanna Nwafor, Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy & Development (FENRAD); Comrade Innocent Anozie Nkowocha, Society for Economic Rights and Social Justice (SERSJ); Comrade Cassiuss Ukwugbe, Human Rights, Justice & Peace Foundation (HRJPF) and Comrade David Anyaele, Centre for citizens with Disabilities (CCD) the groups said if the re-run poll would be free and fair, INEC should redeploy the corrupt officials in Abia to other states.

According to the groups, “we want to state our displeasure over a series of irregularities and abuse of the electoral process, which were experienced in the state gubernatorial election.

We deem it fit to say that it is indeed a sorry state of affairs, which must not be allowed to triumph in Abia State especially this time when the wind of cogent and undeniable change is blowing across our political space.

“We are worried over the perceived weak oversight powers of the national headquarters of INEC over State Returning Officers and state INEC officers in the management and conduct of elections, where political office holders and incumbent governors interfere and play a major role in truncating the electoral process and subverting the will of the people like it happened in the Abia State elections, thus making it easy for the Returning Officer and other state corrupt INEC officers to undermine the credibility of the election with reckless impunity.” The rights groups decried a situation where an election result was cancelled by the state’s returning officer but was forced to reverse the decision by the ruling party chieftains.

The action they said amounted to undermining the powers vested on the state collation and returning officer and abuse of the constitution and Electoral Act.

The groups stated that the Returning Officer did well in cancelling results of Isiala-Ngwa North, Osisioma and Obingwa local government areas, citing widespread electoral malpractices, violence, ballot box snatching, use of fake, uniformed men among other electoral offences and reports of independent foreign and domestic observers that monitored the exercise.

The groups also stated that “ahead of the re-run in those areas we demand for the total cancellation of the results from four local government areas, Ugwunagbo, Osiosioma, Obingwa, Isiala Ngwa North and not some polling units or wards in those areas as being canvassed by some people because reports from our team of observers showed there were no elections in those areas.

The civil society organisations in the state commend the Abia State electorate for the collective determination to further improve the nation’s democracy by turning out in their numbers to exercise their all-important franchise and enjoined them to remain vigilant and come out en masse to vote for the candidate of their choice in the re-run election.

Monday Ashibogwu

Monday Michaels Ashibogwu is Editor-In-Chief of QUICK NEWS AFRICA, one of Nigeria's leading online news service.

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