Imo REC Stays, No Grounds For Sacking, INEC Affirms

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stood by its Resident Electoral Commission (REC) in Imo State, Prof. Sylvia Agu, amid rising criticism and demands for her removal. INEC said it had no grounds to sack the official.

Rotimi Oyekanmi, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, confirmed that Agu would oversee the election on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday.

Oyekanmi said that Agu had done nothing wrong and that the complaints against her were based on speculation.

He said, “We have no reason to take her out of there, and we have no proof that she is guilty of any allegation that is being made at this time.”

“The Commission is serious about its responsibility, and we don’t play with the conduct of elections. When there are complaints against our officers, we also don’t play with complaints, but you must provide proof that our officers are at fault,” Oyekanmi stated.

The spokesperson for the INEC chair said the commission had punished its RECs in Abia, Sokoto, and Adamawa states during the general elections earlier in the year when they violated the commission’s rules.