PDP Rejects Moves To Reshuffle Electoral Commissioners A Week To Elections

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Thursday rejected alleged moves by the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to redeploy Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC), barely a week to the February 16 Presidential election.

In a statement signed by Kọla Ọlọgbọndiyan, its National Publicity Secretary, the PDP claimed that it is "already aware that INEC is acting on the directives of the Buhari presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC), which have been mounting pressure on the commission to deploy some compromised and pliable RECs to certain critical states where they have been instructed to manipulate the electoral process in favour of the APC and President Buhari".

While rejecting what it called an "ignoble scheme", the PDP charged INEC not to enmesh the election in avoidable crisis, as the planned redeployment will be vehemently rejected.

The statement reads in part: "The PDP  charges the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to resist the pressure by the Buhari Presidency but ensure that he stands on the side of the people in their quest for a transparent, free, fair and credible elections.  Anything short of this would definitely pitch the people against the commission".