The management of Independent National Electoral Commission said it has suspended about 205 compromised staff of the Commission over their various roles in the 2015 general elections. The Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu stated this on Tuesday while presenting a keynote address at the national colloquium organised by the Independent Service Delivery Monitoring Group, ISDMG, in Abuja.
He explained that the interdiction recommended by INEC’s Appointments, Promotion and Discipline Committee, APDC, was the highest so far.
While appreciating Nigerians for their constant constructive criticism which has kept the Commission on its toes, Yakubu hinted that staff of the Commission had already started working towards the success of the 2019 general elections.
“We have to put the right people in place as electoral officers and assistant electoral officers for the 2019 general elections. The credibility of an election depends on the credibility of the election manager; the credulity of the election manger depends on the credibility of the staff.
“The APDC recommended the interdiction of 205 staff found culpable in various roles they played arising from the 2015 general elections—this is the highest number of interdictions since the history of the commission. We have within some of the most patriotic staff in the country; but anybody found wanting will be dealt with accordingly,” he added.
He lamented that by 2019, the country could have over 80 political parties, stressing that the Commission had received additional 100 applications seeking registration.
He berated security agencies for doing little to support the Commission but assured that cutting edge technology would be deployed in the election to frustrate desperate politicians.
“The security agencies continue to behave true to type and are even getting worse, while political gladiators horn their manipulative stock-in-trade. However, we are resolved to take them to task with the same resilience that we used in getting INEC to act properly. For the 2019 elections, the ISDMG will be deploying cutting edge technology to the field to ensure that history is properly documented,” he said.
