INEC Ad Hoc staff
• Commission probes claim of result declared under duress
• Corps members tender withdrawal letters
Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Imo State, Prof. Francis Ezeonu, has alleged sabotage by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) workers during the presidential and National Assembly elections.
Also, the commission yesterday commenced distribution of sensitive electoral materials from the Central Bank of Nigeria (INEC) in Owerri to its offices at the 27 councils in the state.
Briefing journalists at INEC headquarters in Owerri yesterday, Ezeonu disclosed that the Electoral Officer (EO) of Owerri Municipal Council was arrested for dereliction of duty, forcing him to take over the job to ensure ease of duty.
The professor of bio-chemistry also disclosed that an INEC worker deployed to the state, who was caught with N500,000 cash during the election, was immediately arrested.
He accused some of the ad hoc workers of colluding with some politicians to remove important components from the Smart Card Readers (SCRs), making them non-functional, promising that a review of strategy was going on to ensure non-repeat.
His words: “The Owerri Municipal EO has been arrested for dereliction of duty. I considered him as a saboteur. I took over the operations of the municipal. That occupied me in the day.”
“Electoral violence was recorded, and some corps members are beginning to withdraw.”
