INEC & APC COLLABORATION Jega Redeployed Akeju to Frustrate PDP Appeal~ Omisore The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the August 9, 2014 governorship election in Osun State, Dr. Iyiola Omisore has faulted the redeployment of the former Residential Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state,Ambassador Akeju back to the state as a ploy by the Prof. Attahiru Jega led Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to scuttle the process of his appeal against the declared victory of the APC candidate, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. He said Ambassador Akeju is back to stultify, scuttle, frustrate and hinder the process of inspecting all the materials by installing obstacles to completely slow or totally hinder the PDP’s efforts to inspect the electoral materials. Addressing a press conference in Osogbo, the state capital recently, Dr. Omisore accused the INEC boss of complicity in the redeployment saga for being insensitive to the partisan disposition of the former REC who was deployed from the state shortly before the election. According to him, the Peoples Democratic Party in 2010 filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Osogbo asking the court to disqualify Akeju from being appointed as Osun REC on the ground that he was an errand boy and a close associate of Alhaji Bola Tinubu, the former governor of Lagos State and ACN sympathizer because he would not be a fair umpire in the conduct of the state gubernatorial election. Speaking further, he said the Federal High Court in its ruling restrained Akeju from parading himself as the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner from conducting the 2011 general elections and also ordered that INEC should replace HIM so as not to jeopardise the conduct of the elections. Omisore wondered that INEC under Professor Jega disregarded the order of the court, allowed Ambassador Akeju not only to parade himself as the Osun State REC but also conducted the 2011 elections in the state. He described what he called the relegation of the rule of law and flagrant disrespect for Court Order by highly placed public officers such as Jega and Akeju a plan to ensure the continued control of the state by ACN without consideration to the yearnings and demands of the electorate. Instead of Professor Jega respecting the court order and by extension rule of law as an untainted umpire manifested his partisan interest by appealing the Order. The question is what is the benefit to derive from this appeal by INEC more than satisfying their paymaster at BourdillonStreet. As I speak with you, the appeal is still being heard at the Court of Appeal in Akure. Akeju’s removal prior to the election according to Omisore, was to placate demands by the public at large that the REC should be removed but quickly added that the removal was a smokescreen ‘’to divert the attention of the public to the depth of atrocities the REC has committed during his pre-election period which spanned 2011 – 2014’’. Dr. Omisore as well accused the APC of frustrating the PDP’s appeal process at the tribunal by hindering the process of copying and scanning all the needed materials as petitioner. He said, ‘’it may interest you to know that the order to inspect the Electoral materials was granted by the Honourable Tribunal on the August 27 of August, 2014 and that the order was served on INEC. ‘’INEC mandated us to pay for certification of documents ordered for inspection and same was paid on the 28 of August, 2014 to the tune of #1.4 million. And owing to the vacillation of INEC officials and the willingness of the APC to frustrate the process entirely as nothing significant has been achieved. Omisore called on INEC to give the party the opportunity of inspecting all the electoral materials within short time saying, ‘’knowing fully that the process at the Tribunal will become academic exercise after 180 days and the goal of delay, frustration and what have you are geared towards ensuring that the Petitioner will not be in the position to maintain and prosecute the petition’’.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 18:36:47 +0000
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