Chairmen of State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) have debunked the allegation in some quarters that local government elections in the country were organised crime.
The chairmen, who addressed journalists, Thursday in Abuja, on the platform of Forum of State Independent Electoral Commissions of Nigeria (FOSIECON), said the lack of funds and uncertainty over tenure in office were major setbacks for the commissions in the various states.
The forum called on the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Akwa Ibom state, Mr. Mike Igini, to retract the statement credited to him.
The National Chairman of FOSIECON, Ibrahim Bako, who spoke on behalf of the group, said: “The attention of the Forum of State Independent Electoral Commissions of Nigeria (FOSIECON) has been drawn to a public statement on Channels Television popular programme, “Politics Today” on the 25th November, 2020, and quoted on several print and online media to the effect that Local Government Council Elections organized by the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECS) are an organised crime.
“While we want to believe that it was not an official position of INEC but the personal opinion of Mr. Igini, we wish to state some facts.
“That we are all aware that INEC before now was considered and seen in the same light with SIEC before it was granted full financial autonomy, having been placed on first line charge funding.
“That instead of scrutinising the challenges and possible ways to strengthen SIECs through calls for constitutional amendments, Mr Mike Igini is tactically positioning himself and others to take over a tacit ‘organised crime’ at the local government level.
“That the Forum of State Independent Electoral Commissions of Nigeria (FOSIECON) takes exceptions to such careless, unreasonable and unguarded statement by Mr Mike Igini, and therefore, calls for an unreserved apology to FOSIECON and a formal retraction of his statement,
“We, therefore, request the Honourable Chairman of INEC to call Mr. Mike Igini to order and cause him to retract his statement and apologise to FOSIECON in the same medium where he made the statement, and in at least, two national dailies in the spirit of the existing relationship between INEC and FOSIECON.”
