No fewer than 70 political parties in Enugu state on Thursday rejected the call for the removal of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Dr. Emeka Ononamadu.
Chief Afam Ani, the Public Relations Officer of the group, said this at a press conference in Enugu, adding that the parties passed a vote of confidence on the REC.
He said that the parties, operating under the aegis of the Coalition of Registered Political Parties, agreed that elections must go on in the state on Saturday.
He said that the group disapproved of the call by the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the removal of the REC and a shift in the election on account of the allegations of bias and compromise against the REC.
He said that the group considered the allegations false and baseless. According to Ani, the group warned political parties not to disrupt the smooth electoral process in the state because of their internal wrangling.
He said that “no single party has the power to determine whether an election should hold or not in any state,” describing Enugu as the most peaceful state in the country.
He also described Ononamadu as the most friendly REC to ever work in the state. He said: “We have witnessed the coming and going of RECs in Enugu state. This one has discharged his duty in line with the provisions of the constitution.
“He should not be removed because he has not done anything contrary to the provisions of the constitution to warrant his removal. The group insisted that the election must go on as scheduled.
The APC, led by its Chairman, Dr. Ben Nwoye, had embarked on a peaceful protest at INEC headquarters, Enugu earlier in the day to demand the postponement of the polls in Enugu state.
He threatened that APC would not allow elections to hold in the date, until their fears had been addressed.
Nwoye had called for the postponement of the Saturday’s governorship and House of Assembly elections in the state.
He had spoken while addressing newsmen on the judgement of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, which restored Senator Ayogu Eze as the party’s governorship candidate in the Saturday elections.
The Appeal Court had set aside the judgement of Justice I. Ekwo of the Federal High Court 5 that had earlier sacked Eze as its governorship candidate and asked INEC to recognise George Ogara instead.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had on Tuesday removed the name of Eze from the original list of the candidates contesting in the governorship poll in Enugu in its website and left the APC space blank.
Nwoye who addressed journalists at the residence of Eze, led a crowd of the APC supporters to the INEC office in Enugu, demanding that Eze be relisted in the INEC website and the election postponed to allow the party to campaign.
He described the removal of Eze in the INEC list of candidates as share wickedness meant to undermine the chances of the party at the election.
Addressing newsmen earlier, Senator Eze had described the Federal High Court judgement as a procured judgement aimed to dislodge the party in Enugu State.
He said it was wrong for the INEC to have removed his name when it was aware that the said judgement had been appealed against.
NAN/Punch
