INEC NOMINEE DENIES WORKING WITH AKANDE

One of the nominees for the post of National Commissioner for the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Lai Olurode, on Saturday denied working with former Governor Bisi Akande of Osun State.

Olurode, who is a professor of Sociology at the University of Lagos, said a publication in one of the national dailies where a group, Elections Transparency Group, accused him of having worked with Akande as his Speech Writer, was the handiwork of mischief makers. The nominee said he never met the former Osun State governor until after his tenure.

The statement, which was signed by his spokesman, Idowu Quadri, noted that Olurode's career as an academic had seen him across the political divide, adding that as Dean, Social Science Faculty of UNILAG, he had met politicians from all major political parties in the country.

The statement quoted Olurode as saying, ''At no time did I ever serve Chief Bisi Akande. The fact is that despite being the governor of my state, I never met Chief Akande one on one until after his tenure as governor. And this was when he delivered our faculty lecture more than three years after he had left office as governor.

'If I had gone to serve under a governor, as an academic, would it not be on record that I was on leave of absence? The records are there for anybody who cares to find out at UNILAG. As an academic, my activities traverse the political divides. My commitment is to empower our people and restore integrity to Nigeria.'