Afrigather 
The Peoples Democratic Social gathering (PDP) has initiated a lawsuit over its disapproval of the number of Etekamba Umoren as a Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC). On Wednesday, the Senate ratified the appointments of seven out of the ten RECs submitted by President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday.
The lawsuit is towards the confirmed RECs which embody Umoren (Akwa Ibom), Isah Ehimeakne (Edo), Oluwatoyin Babalola (Ekiti), Abubakar Ma’aji (Gombe), Shehu Wahab (Kwara), Aminu Idris (Nasarawa), and Mohammed Sadiq (Niger).
The appointments seen as APC’s plot for continued dominance
Throughout a press convention held in Abuja on Thursday, the Nationwide Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, characterised the appointments as a scheme by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to make sure its continued dominance in energy by way of purportedly influencing the actions of the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC).
He acknowledged, “Of specific concern is the brazen imposition of a card-carrying member and distinguished chief of the APC in Akwa Ibom State, Etekamba Umoren, because the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Akwa Ibom State regardless of the loud and widespread outcry and rejection by Nigerians, and notably our occasion, the PDP and the individuals of Akwa Ibom State.”
Ologunagba identified that Umoren is a well known determine inside the APC, actively collaborating in APC campaigns and selling the occasion’s pursuits in earlier elections. He went on to emphasise the PDP’s rejection of Etekamba Umoren’s appointment as INEC REC for Akwa Ibom State.
This rejection is predicated on the idea that the appointment violates the Structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act, 2022, and the common precept of impartiality and non-partisanship anticipated from electoral our bodies and their officers.
To offer additional readability, Ologunagba referred to Part 141 of the Electoral Act, 2022, which explicitly states that people holding elective places of work to which the Act applies or registered members of a political occasion are ineligible for appointment to roles corresponding to returning officers, electoral officers, presiding officers, or ballot clerks.
Ologunagba strongly criticized Umoren’s appointment as a extreme blow to INEC’s credibility as a elementary democratic establishment and a violation of the integrity and sanctity of the electoral course of.
He pressured that this appointment is a blatant affront to the independence, integrity, and credibility of the electoral system. Ologunagba firmly asserted that this appointment wouldn’t be tolerated, emphasizing that it has sparked important discontent and unrest in Akwa Ibom State.
