Ondo INEC: Politicians insist on Adebayo’s sack

By Ola Ajayi
IBADAN—POLITICIANS across the South West except the Peoples Democratic Party,  yesterday at a consultative meeting with Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC,  made a fresh call to INEC to  immediately transfer Mrs. Ayoka Adebayo, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ondo State, out of the  region.

They argued  it seemed the electoral body did not have capacity to discipline their erring members,  saying people like Adebayo ought not to be used in the 2011 election where credibility and fairness are the watchword.

The rejection of the former Ekiti Resident Commissioner almost tore the meeting apart but for the effective management of the situation by the National Commissioner for Oyo, Ogun and Ekiti States, Professor Lai Olurode,  who represented the National Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega.

Prof Olurode pacified them with soothing words that the consultative meeting with the stakeholders of political parties was intended “to strengthen channels of information, deepen relations between INEC and political parties in the discharge of their respective responsibilities, create for a for widespread consultations on certain problems that commonly face us and solve them adding that they should not use the forum to attack personality.”

The INEC commissioner said it was not true that the commission did not discipline erring members, noting that some staff had already been shown the way out.

Though he roundly condemned the conduct of the 2007 elections,  saying it was the worst so far in the country, he disabused their minds that they should give Ayoka Adebayo  another chance and that somebody who had been written off could turn around and be the model for others to emulate.

The meeting which attracted politicians from the South Western states such as Oyo, Ekiti, and Ogun, was called to make credible, free and fair election a reality.

While defending the REC of Ondo, the National Commissioner said, “the appointment was done by the President and the Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega has no power to remove her. He can only move her from one place to another.

I want to assure you that the woman could do her best in the next election. You don’t say because a child started poorly you are going to write him or her off, she may end up being a model to other children”.

When the floor was thrown open for the politicians to ask question again, one of them said if it was not possible for the national chairman to remove her, he should transfer her away completely from the South West.

As Prof. Olurode interrupted him that the issue of her removal should  not be their focus but to fashion out ways the 2011 elections would be violence free, all of them shouted that the man should be allowed to make his observation.

Prof Olurode assured them that the electoral body was committed to free and fair election and nothing would divert its attention to compromise on this and  said while reading the opening remarks by Prof. Jega that political parties should be abreast of the provisions on submission of list of candidates, grounds for substitution of candidates and the general procedures and regulatory powers of INEC with regards to party congresses and conventions as well as the conduct of primaries.

When a PDP member from Ogun State advised the commission to allow some of those who may not be registered within stipulated time to use the old cards, he said no and this current INEC would make the difference and rule out the possibility of some people hoarding thousands of voters’ cards to perpetrate rigging in the election.