It is fairly common to have the Opposition accuse the ruling party of “Arm Twisting” the electoral body and having the results in their favour, but when the Ruling party accuses the opposition, it calls for serious scrutiny. Over the weekend Nigerians were alerted of an alleged infiltration of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC by elements loyal to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Reacting to the nomination of Lagos State University, LASU don, Prof. Abubakar Momoh as the Director General of the Electoral Institute, Afenifere Chieftain and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, in a release issued on behalf of Prince Adedayo Adeyeye Movement (PAAM) Sunday, stated that Prof. Momoh was one of the notable support for Senator Bola Tinubu and governors of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in South West States.
Adeyeye said: “Momoh was one of the partisan elements disguised as Election Observers during the Ekiti State governorship rerun election in 2009, who were caught in Oye and Ifaki-Ekiti, with electoral materials.
“Momoh was caught alongside one ACN chieftain in Lagos State, who was then a Commissioner in the Lagos State Civil Service Commission, Fuad Oki and other chieftains of the party. When they were caught, already prepared election results were found on them with telephone contacts of top leaders of the defunct ACN.”
The PDP governorship aspirant noted that, “Prof. Momoh was also one of the witnesses of the ACN candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, current Governor of Ekiti State at the election tribunal.
“He (Momoh) had also served on the Board of Governor Fayemi’s Non-Governmental Organisation, the Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD.
“Therefore, with such a personality now given a prominent position in INEC, his disposition and extent of the compromising capability in any electoral contest, especially the 2014 governorship election in Ekiti and Osun states, involving the opposition parties, can better be imagined.”