A member of the Integrity Group and former Plateau state Governor Jonah Jang has faulted Director-General All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Governor Simon Lalong’s claim that the G-5 governors, led by Rivers state Governor Nyesom Wike, were supporting the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The rest members of the group are Benue state Governor Samuel Ortom Ifeanyi Ugwanyi of Enugu state, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia state and Oyo state Governor Seyi Makinde.
In a statement Sunday, Jang said Nigerians no longer took anything coming from Lalong seriously.
The statement, signed by Jang’s media consultant, Clinton Garuba, said: “Obvious sign that Lalong is daydreaming is him thinking that the G5 PDP governors and allies including former Governor Jang are supporting Tinubu.
“They have repeatedly said that they do not have personal problems with Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, but with the process that brought him up.
“Yes, the integrity group has disagreements with the PDP and their withdrawal of support for Atiku’s campaign does not in any way suggest that they support the APC candidate. Only Lalong and his fellow dreamers think so.
“They have repeatedly said that they do not have personal problems with Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, but with the process that brought him up.
“Yes, the integrity group has disagreements with the PDP and their withdrawal of support for Atiku’s campaign does not in any way suggest that they support the APC candidate. Only Lalong and his fellow dreamers think so.”
‘INEC has no candidate’
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reassured that it would not support any candidate or political party in the 2023 general election.
Rather, the commission said it was only interested in the electoral process that would guarantee a free and fair poll.
INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu said this while addressing Supervisory Presiding Officers (SPOs) for the 2023 general election in Abuja.
While urging them to be neutral, Yakubu said: “The commission is determined that the 2023 general election will be a best ever and you are the people that will help the commission to make it happen and help to ensure that Nigeria has a pleasant experience on election day.
“INEC is not a political party. INEC has no candidate in the election. Our only interest is in the processes. The choice of who becomes what in Nigeria is left to the Nigerian people to decide.”
Describing the the work of the SPOs as critical to the success of the 2023 general election, he said: “You are the people who supervise those who will work at the most important level, the Polling Units (PUs) level. That is the only place where voting take place.
“The collation officers at the polling units’ level are collating results from the PUs. When collation officers at the PU go to the local government level, they are collating results from the PUs.
“When it goes to the state level they are collating results from the PUs and when they come to Abuja, where we collate the presidential result it would have passed through all these processes.
“So, by the time the results come to Abuja, Nigerians would have known the outcome of the election.”
“Our responsibility is simply to collate. So you are playing very critical role. What will help you help the commission, help Nigerians and the electoral process is your Integrity as individuals,” he added.
The INEC boss said the training was going on simultaneously in all states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“Today we are commencing the training of the most critical staff for the 2023 general election. Between today and tomorrow, we will train the PSOs.
“In the FCT we require 282 SPOs but we are training more than that no. “We have added 70 to make it a total of 352 in case some are unable to make it on election day for one reason or another, we have a buffer.
“What is happening in FCT is happening in all the 36 days of the federation at the same time.
“Between today Feb. 11 and tomorrow Feb. 12, we will train the SPOs. Then on Tuesday the Feb. 14 to Thursday Feb. 16, we will train the Presiding Officers and Assistant Presiding Officers (APO) 1, 2 and 3,” the INEC boss further said.
