From Aniekan Aniekan, Calabar
The Cross River State government has taken steps to remove the chairman and members of the Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC) due to alleged “serial ineffectiveness.”
This action follows a letter from the Governor to the State House of Assembly seeking approval to restructure CROSIEC.
The request was outlined in a letter signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor A. Owan Enoh.
The Governor highlighted the commission’s ineffectiveness and urged the legislature to “act, pursuant to Section 201(1) – (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), and pass an address to remove the Chairman and all members of the commission due to serial ineffectiveness.”
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The government expressed concern over “a cavalier work attitude by the Chairman and members of the State Electoral Commission.”
“This inertia has resulted in the state’s inability to conduct local government council elections, which should have been held in 2023,” the letter stated.
The government requested the Assembly’s approval to grant Governor Otu “the authority to reorganise the commission to enable the state to hold elections for its Local Government Council as soon as possible.”
After deliberating on the request, the Speaker of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem, referred the matter to the House Committee on Judiciary, Public Service Matters, Public Petitions, and Conflict Resolution for further review and recommendations.
CROSIEC, currently chaired by Dr Mike Ushie, last scheduled local government elections for May 2023. However, the commission postponed the process and has yet to set a new date.