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From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The All Progressives Congress (APC) South-south zonal Organising Secretary, Blessing Agbomhere, has demanded the immediate resignation or outright sack of Akwa-Ibom State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mike Igini, over the role he played in the controversy rocking the State’s governorship and senatorial primary elections.
Agbomhere, an APC chieftain also accused Igini of “biased, partiality and reasonable show of act of a man indebted, compromised, to appeal to his pay-master.”
Reacting formally to earlier comments credited to the Akwa Ibom State REC over the state governorship and Senatorial candidates, the APC Zonal Secretary in a statement he issued Tuesday in Abuja, argued that it is not within the purview of the REC to dispute the primary election that produced the candidates forwarded by the party but the members of APC.
“My attention has been drawn to the vituperation and grandstanding by the Akwa Ibom State REC, Igini, regarding the governorship and Senatorial primary elections for the Akwa Ibom state. As far as the APC primary elections in Akwa Ibom states is concerned, the role played by Igini so far is biased, partial and reasonably shows act of a man who is indebted, compromised, and running higgledy-piggledy to appeal to his pay-master.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), by virtue of its statutory obligation to Nigerians, ought to be a neutral umpire in the electoral process. Parties who participate in primary elections and who are members of a political party, are in the best position to disagree over the outcome of an election, not INEC. It is not in the place of Igini to dispute the primary election, except he is a member of the APC and a contestant in the said primary election.
“Let me further emphasise that it is the duty of the political party to send names of their candidates to INEC and not REC. If Igini has personal issues with Godswill Akpabio, he should avail himself of a different forum to sort the issues out with him, as we will not allow him to stand as an impediment to the imminent victory of APC in Akwa Ibom and the South-South of Nigeria.
“And having done what he has done, Igini is no longer fit to be INEC Resident Commissioner in Akwa Ibom State. I, therefore, call on Igini to, without further delay, resign his position as Resident Electoral Commissioner in Akwa Ibom State.
“In the event that Igini refuses to resign, I call on the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, to sack Igini without hesitation in order to ensure that the political atmosphere in Akwa Ibom State does not degenerate into anarchy and the reputation of INEC is not reduced to that of a mad man, who has no shame or nothing to protect,” Agbomhere quipped in the statement.
