2014: PDP, APC trade words over Osun REC The Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State and the ruling All Progressives Congress are trading words over the alleged refusal of the Independent National Electoral Commission to remove Ambassador Rufus Akeju as the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state. The Chairman of the PDP in Osun State, Mr. Ganiyu Olaoluwa, in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Osogbo on Saturday accused the INEC Chairman, Prof. Atahiru Jega, of insincerity for retaining Akeju despite a court order restraining him from doing so. He threatened to drag the INEC chairman to court for alleged disobedience to an order of a competent court. The PDP chairman said, “We have said it times without number but our next action will be to drag him (Jega) to court. A court has restrained him from retaining Akeju as Osun REC but he has refused. We don’t know what Jega stands to lose by moving Akeju out of Osun State. “The INEC chairman is not honest about the issue of Akeju; a Federal High Court has restrained INEC from using Akeju as Osun REC and it baffles us in the PDP what Akeju is still doing in Osun.” He accused the INEC of conniving with the APC to manipulate the 2014 governorship election in the state but said the plan would fail. But the Chairman of the APC in the state, Mr. Adelowo Adebiyi, said the PDP was looking for an excuse for its imminent defeat. Adebiyi said the ruling party had had no reason to doubt the REC’s integrity and would not raise any false allegations against him. He said, “ Let them raise it if they have anything against the REC. You can’t just raise allegations without substantiating it, it is not fair. We are okay with the REC. He is above average and we have not had any reason to doubt his integrity. “The PDP is aware that it would suffer heavy defeat in next year’s governorship election and they have to say something. They are fabricating all these allegations to justify the defeat waiting for them. The PDP was foisted on the state and for many years they did nothing. But the current administration has shown how to govern and the people are happy and they are ready, to re-elect Governor Rauf Aregbesola again. This is making the opposition parties jittery.” Jega has also denied the allegation raised by the PDP saying he did not disobey any court order . The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, had recently denied a similar allegation raised by Senator Iyiola Omisore. Idowu said in a statement that the allegation levelled against Jega was not true. The statement read, “True, in a ruling on March 23, 2011 by the Federal High Court in Osogbo, Kuewumi gave an interlocutory order of injunction restraining INEC from recognising the REC, pending the hearing and determination of the originating summons in the suit. But the commission’s lawyers lodged an appeal and filed a motion for stay of execution of the interlocutory order. “This appeal is still pending before the Court of Appeal in Akure. Meanwhile, Hon. Justice Babs Kuewumi, in another ruling on May 31, 2012, granted the application for stay of proceedings pending the determination of the appeal made by the Plaintiff – the Peoples Democratic Party. The position of the law as at today is that the order of injunction granted by the lower court is in abeyance pending the final determination of the appeal. “The commission is guided by provisions of the law and strives to do the right thing always. Politicians, and indeed all Nigerians, are urged to be likewise disposed for the good health of our democracy.”
Posted on: Sun, 15 Sep 2013 05:14:46 +0000
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