Obi-Datti Campaign Organisation accuses INEC of bias, demands removal of Lagos REC
By Joy Okosieme
With the 2023 presidential election just a little under two weeks away, tension seems to be building gradually.
On Monday in Abuja, the Obi-Datti Campaign Organization accused Nigeria’s electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) of bias.
Balogun Akin Osuntokun, Director General of the Campaign Organization at a press briefing at the Obi-Datti Campaign Headquarters, titled, URGENT DISTURBING DEVELOPMENTS IN THE ELECTION PROCESS IN LAGOS AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY, said INEC’s conduct in recent times did not portray it as an impartial umpire in the forthcoming election.
Outlining what the Obi-Datti Campaign Organization considered the “sins” of INEC, which are sending dangerous signals, Balogun Osuntokun said the electoral umpire’s conduct in the last few days had left much to be desired. He said:
“A few days ago also, speculation and rumours emerged, that INEC had engaged the services of Lagos State Park and Garage Management Committee, led by Mr Musiliu Akinsanya, also known as MC Oluomo, a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council and a known loyalist of the presidential candidate of the APC, in the distribution of sensitive election materials in the forthcoming presidential election in Lagos.
“We initially took the allegation with a pinch of salt, believing that INEC was conscious of red lines in these elections and that common sense and logic would not permit such arbitrariness.
“However, as days passed by, it became clear to us, that the news report was correct, especially as the explanation given by Mr Festus Okoye INEC Director of Information and Voter Education, does not go far enough in refuting this association”.
Osuntokun said the partisan and provocative action by INEC, in entrusting the conveyance of election materials into the hands of agents of an interested political party in Lagos State, is reprehensible and unprecedented in the annals of Nigeria’s electoral and political history.
The Obi-Datti Campaign DG said in addition to the faux pas by INEC regarding the distribution of election materials in Lagos, its fears that the electoral body was partisan was reinforced by the recent action of INEC in endorsing , via their official Twitter handle, a tweet, wherein Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party, was maligned by another presidential candidate.
Osuntokun said in addition to these disturbing developments, recent public statements by the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Lagos State, Olusegun Agbaje, bordering on sectional bias and resentment, have shown overwhelming partisanship on his side, and as such he cannot be trusted with the onerous task of conducting an unbiased election, in a volatile state like Lagos.
The Obi-Datti campaign boss the fears of the organization were not allayed by the realization that the heavily criticized 2018 Osun Governorship rerun election, where Mr. Gboyega Oyetola was controversially declared the winner, to the dismay of Nigerians and the International community including election observers, was also conducted by the same Agbaje.
Putting the developments together, the Obi-Datti Campaign DG said it was constrained to demand that among other things that INEC:
° Cancellation the logistics contract entered into, between INEC and the Lagos State Park and Garage Management Committee headed by MC Oluomo;
° Immediate redeployment and blacklisting from any election duty, anywhere, of Lagos REC, Agbaje, whose recent actions Osuntokun said, have raised concrete doubts about his suitability as an election supervisor, not just in Lagos State, but anywhere in decent society.
The Obi-Datti Campaign DG said there are more many capable Nigerians of good professional and ethical standard available within INEC, to conduct an acceptable election, than to run the risk of any unpopular pre-determined outcome, which Agbaje’s conduct, strongly suggests.
The Obi-Datti Campaign chief urged INEC to remember that, it must always remain above suspicion, transparent and professional, more so in this election, of so much public hope and so much public trust.
Decrying violence
Also at the press conference, the Obi-Datti Campaign Organization decried the rising spate of violence in the build up to the election.
On Saturday February 11 in Lagos during Labour Party’s rally, hoodlums attacked the parts supporters of the party in parts of the state as they moved in procession to the Tafawa Balewa Square venue of the event.
Osuntokun said the campaign organization received with shock, reports of multiple attacks on its supporters resulting in death, injuries, destruction of vehicles, and theft of personal items.
He called on the Inspector General Of Police, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, the Department of State Services, the Civil Defence Force and all security agencies, to deploy intelligence and reinforcements all over Lagos, and other potential flashpoint and locations across the country, immediately, as the election season is already underway.
Osuntokun said the dastardly acts must be checked and the perpetrators and their sponsors arrested forthwith.
He called upon the Lagos State Governor and all Political leaders in Lagos state to immediately condemn the provocative acts of violence, and rein in political supporters who may be involved in instigating these attacks.
He urged supporters of the party and people of goodwill in Lagos, to continue their preparations and participation in the election, while taking all precautions with regard to their safety.
“We in the Labour Party will continue to toe the path of propriety, discipline and fair play, but we will also we remain unwavering in insisting on a truly free and fair election.
“The Obidient Spirit is not such that can be deterred by violence or thuggery, and we shall remain undeterred in our march to February 25th, and in our resolve to vote in Peter Obi and Datti Baba-Ahmed, the team with the rounded capacity to turn Nigeria around, for the better”, Osuntokun said.
