Ondo: NLC, Civil Society Gives INEC 21-Day Ultimatum To Remove Adebayo

LAGOS, July 29, (THEWILL) - Oppositions continue to mount against the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega over the positing of controversial Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mrs. Ayoka Adebayo to Ondo State as a coalition of the Nigeria Labour Party (NLC) and civil Society groups today issued a 21-day ultimatum to remove Adebayo or face mass protest.

In an open letter, NLC made a frantic call for the immediate transfer of Adebayo from the State to an obscure office at the INEC office in Abuja where she could be monitored while warning the INEC chairman of the credibility problem her deployment to Ondo State could create for Jega.

In the letter, the NLC Ondo State Chapter also advocated that all officials of INEC with dented service records should either be relieved of their posts or transferred to offices not too risky to affect or influence credible electoral processes in any state of the federation, expressing shock over the posting of Adebayo to the state after her vexed performance in the Ekiti State re-run election.

The letter was signed by the Comrades Momodu Braimoh and Ebenezer Akinde, State Chairman and Secretary respectively, stating that the working people were shocked to "receive the unexpected information concerning Adebayo’s recent posting to Ondo State.

"Ondo and Ekiti are sister states and we know much about the electoral fraud perpetrated in Ekiti State though denied especially during the re-run gubernatorial and senatorial elections presided over by Mrs. Adebayo."

The congress urged the Jega to "please give us men of virtue who fit in perfectly with the vision of Josiah Gilbert Holland in his popular Prayer, ‘GOD GIVE US MEN’… men whom the lust of office does not kill. Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy…men who can stand before a demagogue and damn his treacherous flattery without winking…."

"An INEC Resident Commissioner with these attributes is the person we need in Ondo State and not someone like Adebayo who could not stand before her political godfathers and damn her treacherous flattery without winking taking into consideration what she did in Ekiti State re-run elections," the letter stated.

But the NLC leaders warned that should Prof Jega fail to accede to this "our humble request to transfer Chief (Mrs.) Ayoka Adebayo", out of the state as REC and replace her with "one of your men of honour and integrity who cannot be unduly influenced by anyone" within a period of 21 days from July 27th, 2010, they would embark on series of protests against all INEC officials in Ondo State by the "working people of Ondo State to be led by the NLC, Ondo State Council.

According to them, "In order to avoid our mass protest, please act fast by transferring Mrs. Ayoka Adebayo to an obscure office at INEC headquarters, Abuja and not to any state of the Federation as Resident Electoral Commissioner until she is absolved of Ekiti electoral palaver. This is the only way for your administration to start well as a reliable electoral Umpire in Nigeria," the NLC said.