Edo Guber: Focus on election, we won’t deploy REC, INEC tells PDP

By Tunde Opalana

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has advised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to concentrate on the weekend governorship election in Edo State and stop chasing shadows by demanding the deployment of the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr. Anugbum Onuoha.

The commission told the PDP to focus on the election and not the REC as INEC won’t succumb to such unnecessary pressure to deploy Onuoha ahead of the September 21 polls.

The PDP through its National Working Committee and the Edo State chairman had repeatedly asked for Onuoha’s posting out of the state on the alleged fear of using his relationship with the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike to influence the result of the governorship election.

Wike, a member of PDP, who is a cousin to the REC has been in dagger drawn with the party and has publicly declared that he will not support PDP’s candidate, Asue Ighodalo.

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Both the PDP acting National Chairman, Ambassador Ilya Damagum and the party’s spokesperson, Hon. Debo Ologunagba had at different fora called for Onuoha’s deployment while the Edo PDP chairman, Anthony Aziegbemhin wrote a letter to the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu requesting same.

However, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, in a response on Monday advised the PDP to concentrate on the election and not on the REC.

Oyekanmi said “the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Edo State will not be redeployed. The governorship election will be conducted on 21st September 2024 in 4,519 polling units, not in the REC’s office.

“In the same manner, polling unit results will be declared by the respective Presiding Officers after the voting, ballot sorting and counting processes, in the presence of accredited party agents and other stakeholders.

“The PO will also take a picture of the PU result in each polling unit with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, and upload same to the INEC Result Viewing portal. This process is not the same as electronic voting or electronic transmission and collation of results. The IReV is for transparency purposes. The Nigerian constitution does not yet recognise eletronic voting. Copies of the PU results will be given to accredited party agents.

Thereafter, the various collation stages will be undertaken before the declaration of the final result at the State Collation Centre in Benin-City.

“The PDP should, therefore, focus on the process, not on the REC or other officials of the commission. The conduct of the election and result collation activity will take place in the open and accredited party agents will witness every step”.