There is a subtle tussle over who should replace Festus Okoye as National Commissioner from the South East zone at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Sunday Independent has gathered…CONTINUE READING>>...CONTINUE READING
Recall that Okoye’s five-year tenure recently elapsed, but investigation revealed that the former INEC Commissioner in charge of Voters Education may be interested in returning to the commission and has already commenced lobbying.
Sources equally revealed that powerful interest blocks are putting pressure on President Bola Tinubu to reappoint Okoye.
However, it was gathered that some civil society organisations (CSOs) are uncomfortable with Okoye’s return, citing what they described as his poor handling of INEC’s communication during the last general elections which gave room for lots of misinformation on activities of the electoral umpire.
Many election observers complained about the poor voter education during the last general election and many CSOs says Okoye being head of voter education should take the blame.
It was gathered that some CSOs and some within the president’s core who believe in electoral integrity of the Commission favour Professor Chris Ngwu, a Professor of Mass Communication from Enugu, to emerge as Okoye’s replacement.
The Presidency appears to be in a dilemma over the situation. It has also been argued that the position be rotated to Enugu State, where Ngwu hails from. Okoye, who is from Imo State, replaced Prof Ibano from Anambra State…CONTINUE READING>>
