How varsity dons aided politicians to rig elections — REC

A Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) has alleged that some university lecturers who served as collation officers in previous elections in some states aided and abetted electoral-related offences in the country.

Recounting his experience, the outgoing Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Oyo State, Dr Mutiu Agboke, in a lecture entitled “2023 General Election, Stakeholders and INEC Preparation: Oyo State Perspective” as part of activities marking the 83rd birthday anniversary of the chairman and founder of Ibadan-based radio station, Splash 105.5 FM, Chief Adebayo Akande and the 15th anniversary of the station, at the Trenchard Hall, University of Ibadan, on Friday, narrated how a particular collation officer queried the loss of a particular presidential candidate in Oyo State in 2019.

He stated that an electoral officer, who was supposed to serve as an unbiased umpire, put on the garb of a politician by querying the decision of the electorate to vote for a particular candidate in Oyo State.

He disclosed that his colleagues came to his office to mount pressure on him not to announce the result in order for the entire state not to be engulfed in flames.

Responding to the speech of former vice-chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Olufemi Bamiro, on his experience as a Returning Officer, Agboke said, “some of your colleagues were destructive and are still destructive with no interest in the state at heart.

“Imagine, one of your colleagues who was supposed to be an unbiased umpire was querying the loss of a particular presidential candidate in Oyo State in 2019.

“It took the firmness of all of us, (INEC staff) to ensure that the right thing was done.”

Agboke added that conduct of free and fair elections in 2023 should not rest on the shoulders of the INEC alone, saying other relevant stakeholders had critical roles to play too.

Decrying the absence of the police at the event, the outgoing Oyo REC said the issue of security was sacrosanct, hence the need for relevant security agencies, especially the police, to up their game.

According to him, there was a need for heavy presence of the police at the polling booths in order to curb the activities of electoral offenders, noting that INEC had no constitutional power to arrest electoral offenders, but can only prosecute.

He also stressed the need for the people to be optimistic on issues concerning the progress of the country, adding that it was wrong on the part of some people to have the impression that 2023 general election would not hold.

He said: “Let us be optimistic. There is no problem that we had not encountered and surmounted as a nation. Elections will be held in 2023. Winners and losers will emerge. Heaven will not fall.”

On the activities of hoodlums, Agboke hinted that era of ballot stuffing, snatching and other related vices was over with the introduction of Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS).

He stated that, unlike the outdated smart card readers, BVAS will capture both facial and fingerprints, as well as input the total figure of votes cast at various polling centres and transmit it electronically to the collation centres.

Speaking on the readiness of Oyo State for the conduct of the 2023 elections, Agboke said with more than 700,000 Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) yet to be collected, the residents seemed not to be ready.

He, therefore, called on Governor Seyi Makinde to declare a public holiday for the registration and collection of PVCs.

In his address, former vice-chancellor of the University of Ibadan and chairman on the occasion, Professor Olufemi Bamiro, narrated his experience as a Returning Officer and the pressure mounted by the political class to alter election figures.

Professor Bamiro, who lauded the developmental strides of the founder and chairman of Splash FM, Chief Akande, for the choice of topic for the 2023 annual lecture series, especially with the coming 2023 general election, stressed the need for collaboration by relevant stakeholders to ensure hitch-free elections.

In attendance at the event were Chief Eddy Oyewole, Chief Mrs Onikepo Akande, Basorun Kola Daisi, Professor Jide Owoeye, Mr Raphael Akpan, Mr, Dapo Jamiu, Chief Mrs Bola Doherty, Dr. Kola Mosuro, Bayo Akande Jnr, and a host of others. (Saturday Tribune)