The leadership of the National Rescue Movement (NRM) has condemned in strong terms the exclusion of its governorship candidate, Dr Dennis Osaron Aikoriogie in the list published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday March 31, 2024.
The national publicity secretary of the NRM, Olusola Afuye, stated this yesterday during a protest alongside its party members at the INEC headquarters in Abuja.
He said, INEC had earlier displayed the list of candidates of the 17 political parties participating in the September 21 governorship election in Edo State by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr Anugbum Onuoha, who displayed the list on its notice board and in all INEC offices across the 18 local government areas on Saturday, but excluded the name of their candidate Dr Aikoriogie, who duly participated in the legitimate primaries monitored by INEC from the national headquarters, Abuja.
“We strongly demand that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should immediately upload the name and credentials of our candidate or risk scuttling the entire process which has cost the country a lot of tax payers’ money”, he warned
He said, noteworthy is the fact that at the peak of the issues enumerated
above, and their complaint of bias against the acting director, EPM, to the INEC chairman, Prof Yakubu Mahmood, he promptly set up a panel to investigate, and resolve the lingering issues. He however regretted that the said EPM director had the effrontery to challenge and pose grave
danger to “our nascent democracy by her affront to the basic principles of democracy and due process of the law all sacrificed on the altar of personal and selfish gains.”
He said NRM had in its last quarter NEC meeting held on the 23rd of October 2023 suspended Mr Isaac Chigozie Udeh, who before then was the National Chairman of NRM, alongside others for series of constitutional breaches and sundry offences, following which Prince (Dr) Chinedu Obi from the same zone and state was nominated as acting national chairman, in the spirit of fairness to the zoning principals of the party.
“However, NEC meeting was convened in compliance with all relevant legal provisions and guidelines of the party and the commission. It was monitored by the Commission through an Assistant Director as team lead of the 3-member delegation, in the full glare of the media and security
agencies. Regrettably, since the last 7 months, the report has been hijacked by the Ag Director EPM and she has failed and refused to implement same as ought. She has constituted herself as one above the laws of the land and above the leadership of the commission itself.”
He said the party strongly condemned one Hajia Hauwa who had threatened to deregister their party if they do not play by her whims and caprices, accusing her of running her office like a private and personal enterprise. He said that she had severally refused to accept their letters, correspondences and documents sent to the commission and she even instructed INEC staff at the registry not to accept letters from the party.
On his part, INEC commissioner, Major Gen Abubakar Modibor Alkali (rtd) commended the NRM leadership for their peaceful demonstration reassuring that the commission would address the problem.