INEC didn’t remove Igbo, South-South names as Ad-hoc staff — Lagos REC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has debunked the rumour making its rounds on social media that it has removed the names of Igbo and South-South people from the list of ad-hoc staff for Saturday’s governorship and House of Assembly elections in Lagos State.

INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Lagos State, Mr. Olusegun Agbaje, in a statement on Wednesday evening by the Head of Department, Voter Education and Publicity, Mrs. Adenike Tadese described the news as fake and urged the public to ignore it.

The statement read: “INEC Lagos State read with great surprise and concern on the social media in respect of the removal of all Igbo and South-South staff in Lagos State from participating as ad hoc staff in the state during the forthcoming governorship and House of Assembly elections on March 18.

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“It has become imperative to correct the erroneous accusations in some quarters and put the record straight that the ad hoc staff (collation officers) engaged during the presidential and National Assembly Elections on February 25 in Lagos State were 738 in number, bearing in mind that three elections were held.

“The forthcoming governorship and House of Assembly will only require the services of 427 collation officers because only two elections are involved.

“It is pertinent to state unequivocally that members of staff that are Igbo were all returned to work as collation officers in the forthcoming elections while SPOs (Supervisory Presiding Officers) maintained their positions.”

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He further stated that he did not have their telephone numbers, saying whoever has information concerning the day and time of the said telephone conversation should not hesitate to make it public.

Agbaje added that the stories were fabricated to impugn INEC and taint his reputation.

He urged members of the public to shun fake news, misinformation and disinformation and allow INEC in Lagos to focus on the forthcoming elections, in order to achieve the desired results.

“Without mincing words Mr. Olusegun Agbaje MFR, MNI is a man of integrity, sincerity, fully committed and dedicated to the service of the commission and the entire citizens of Nigeria irrespective of ethnicity or political affiliation. 

“The commission will continue to uphold the fundamental principles of equity, fairness, transparency, credibility and accountability in line with the vision and mission to be a pre-eminent leader in deepening electoral democracy as an unbiased election management body.”