Osun poll: PDP, REC bicker Over alleged delay in the inspection of election materials THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Osun State chapter, on Wednesday reiterated its allegation that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was deliberately frustrating the inspection of material used for the August 9 governorship election. It contended that the resolve of the Election Petition Tribunal, adjudicating over complaints regarding the result of the election to ensure speedy proceedings over the petition filed by the PDP against the victory of Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) may be jeorpardised by the slow pace of the inspection exercise. The PDP, in a statement endorsed by its state chairman, Alhaji Ganiyu Olaoluwa, deplored what it termed “tactical delay and frustration” by the INEC office in Osogbo, through the alleged reduction in number of workforce engaged by the party to carry out the inspection. The PDP also alleged that the order by the INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Osun, Ambassador Rufus Akeju, that only materials for two wards would be checked daily by the party’s inspection team, was calculated to cause unnecessary delay in the inspection exercise. The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of INEC in Osun, Ambassador Akeju, on Wednesday, however, described the claims of the PDP as unfounded and baseless, emphasising that the umpire was not delaying the inspection as ordered by the tribunal. According to a press release signed by the INEC’s Chief Public Affairs Officer, Mrs Adenike Tadese, “it is pertinent to clarify and correct the frivolous accusation by the PDP that Osun REC allegedly planned to reduce the workforce engaged by the party to carry out inspection of ballot papers and that he equally gave order that only two wards would be checked daily by the PDP inspection team, in order to delay the inspection exercise. “We wish to state that the reduction in the workforce affected the two political parties, PDP and APC, due to the rowdiness which led to discreditable physical combat between the two parties during the course of inspection of ballot papers at the INEC State Office,” the release added. It continued that “INEC decided that 10 members of each party (five legal counsels and five experts) should be recognised at the inspection centre to manage the size of the crowd. The decision was not made to antagonise any party, but to facilitate the process of inspection of the electoral materials.”
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 11:26:48 +0000
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