- The FCT minister wondered why the PDP is demanding for the redeployment of Onuoha just days before the election.
- He added that he was approached by Godwin Obaseki, governor of the state, to support the PDP candidate for the election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has made it clear that Anugbum Onuoha, the Edo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, will remain in his position for the upcoming governorship election.
The Edo State PDP chairman, Tony Aziegbemi, had requested Onuoha’s transfer due to his alleged ties with Nyesom Wike, the FCT minister.
The Edo PDP has expressed doubts about Onuoha’s ability to oversee a fair election, citing his past role as Special Adviser on Lands to Wike during his tenure as Rivers State governor.
In response to Aziegbemi’s concerns, Wike revealed that Onuoha is his first cousin and has been serving as Edo REC for over a year.
Rotimi Oyekanmi, chief press secretary to INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu, advised the PDP to focus on the voting process rather than the Edo REC office.
“The resident electoral commissioner for Edo state will not be redeployed. The governorship election will be conducted on 21st September 2024 in 4,519 polling units, not in the REC’s office,” he said.
He explained that polling unit results will be announced by presiding officers after voting, sorting, and counting, in the presence of party agents and stakeholders.
The presiding officer will also capture the result with the bimodal voter accreditation system and upload it to the INEC result viewing portal.
He clarified that this process differs from electronic voting or transmission and collation of results.
“The IReV is for transparency purposes. The Nigerian constitution does not yet recognise electronic voting. Copies of the PU results will be given to accredited party agents.”
Afterwards, collation stages will take place before the final result is declared at the State Collation Centre in Benin city.
Oyekanmi emphasized that the PDP should focus on the process, not the REC or commission officials.
He assured that the election and result collation will be conducted openly, with party agents witnessing every step.