Kolapo Olusola
We have been fair, says INEC
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Kolapo Olusola Eleka, have accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Ekiti State of not co-operating fully with them on the need to have a fair access to electoral materials during the inspection as ordered by the Ekiti State Governorship Election Tribunal.
One of the party’s legal counsel, Nurudeen Adegboye, who stated that INEC ought to grant separate sessions to his team and that of the respondents, comprising counsel to All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, John Kayode Fayemi, for the inspection of the electoral materials, said: “The INEC has not been co-operating with us very well on the urgent need for us to have separate sessions with the respondents as to checking the electoral materials.
“We got our court orders separately to come for our inspection. The respondents also got their own order separately for the same exercise. Instead of INEC to set up a separate inspection for us to have our own separately so that either party would do its inspection without any hitch, INEC decided that we should have a joint inspection for the exercise.”
But the commission’s Public Relations Officer, Taiwo Gbadegesin, said: “The bottom line is that the INEC has been so fair to both parties. The schedule is that the commission makes the materials available and we have been doing that.”“The arrangement as to having assess to the materials has been left to the two parties.”
all along; it has been smooth with the joint session. If there is any disagreement now, they have to go back and re-arrange on how to do the inspection between themselves. Our own part is to provide the materials at any time they ask for them.
“All the materials are in our strong room here at the state office, we don’t have any material in any of the local councils. All we do is to ask the electoral officials and local council officials in charge to come and show them the materials/and we have been so transparent on this. We have nothing to hide. We don’t decide whether they would have a joint or separate session. That is for them to decide between the two of them.”
0 Comments