Resident Balloter Commissioners acquire threatened to betrayal governors and top government admiral that action them gifts, adage their censor is not for sale.
They said their above assignment was to ensure the believability of the accessible accepted elections in the absorption of peaceful co-existence of the country.
The RECs, who batten with Saturday PUNCH in abstracted interviews during the week, said the governors and politicians’ ability would be brash as bribery them adjoin their conscience.
They, however, threatened to betrayal whoever offers them any ‘Greek gift’ no amount how awful placed the getting may be.
The Kwara Accompaniment REC, Dr. Emmanuel Onucheyo, said he was not accessible to acquire any allowance from any politician, including the accompaniment governor.
He said the ambition of such ability – banking and non-monetary – were meant to adaptation and admission the acclamation results.
Onucheyo said INEC had fabricated a lot of accoutrement and comforts for the RECs such that none of them should be tempted to acquire any gift.
According to him, there are abounding accessories that will betrayal any INEC official who collects bribe.
“We are active in an age area even a biro is a camera,” Onucheyo said.
The Ekiti Accompaniment REC, Mr. Sam Olumekun, told politicians that they could not allurement their way to achievement in the accessible elections.
Olumekun, said, “It is doubtful for a governor or any baby-kisser to accordance budgetary or non-monetary ability to a REC or his spouse, abnormally if elections are about the corner.
“We should anticipate about the people, no governor would action me such allowance and I won’t acquire if offered.
“The agency has brash admiral to break abroad from politicians. INEC is bent to conduct a cellophane and aboveboard election; we will not be distracted. Our censor will not be for sale.”
Apart from the actuality that the Oyo Accompaniment REC, Rufus Akeju, said he would apathy ability offered by politicians, he brash his colleagues to apperception their accordance with governors.
“If we are gluttonous chargeless and fair elections, we should be alert of our position and accordance with politicians. The action is that you don’t accommodated anyone for anything,” Akeju said.
On the allocation of favours to RECs from governors during acclamation period, he said such favour would be accounted a allurement depending on what was offered and what the appeal was.
Akeju said, “A acute getting will not ask or appeal for annihilation at this acute time. The acclamation is about the bend and if anybody offers the bend annihilation as a baby-kisser or governor, again there is something abaft it.”
In one of the South-South states controlled by PDP, a above REC (identity withheld) had alone a chic car and abundant adaptation presented to him on accepting of appointment in 2010.
It was aggregate that the again Arch of Agents to the governor, who is currently ambitious into the National Assembly, had approached the REC and fabricated the presentation which included banknote allowance active into millions of naira, but the anxious REC angry down the offer.
In a contempo account accepted one of our correspondents anon afore he was redeployed to Edo State, the actual accomplished REC of Cross River, Mr. Mike Igini, said it was amiss for an balloter adjudicator in the accompaniment to appeal favour from politicians.
Asked why RECs seemed loyal to governors in the accompaniment area they work, Igini said, “Loyal in what terms? RECs acquire their primary adherence to the Nigerian aborigine guided by the aldermanic mandates as spelt out in the Constitution, Balloter Act, and added germane laws and guidelines.
He said, “Governors are admired accessible servants, while they ascendancy that office, every aborigine accept to accordance them the address accompanying to that office, and the address accorded every animal being, but adherence accept to be qualified, it is an adjective that is activating to the ambience in which it is used. If you beggarly civilian adherence apropos to acquiescence with accompaniment laws of which a accompaniment governor is the arch custodian, that is appropriate, but if you beggarly political loyalty, that is an abnormality and complete abomination.”
When aswell asked if RECs await on governors for accouterment of logistics, Igini said, “When you seek abetment of the affectionate you are talking about, you lose your moral ascendancy to advance and accomplish acquiescence and that is why humans like me would not acquiesce in such amiss conduct.
“There is no acumen that a REC or accompaniment INEC appointment requires that demands or justifies political adherence from any appointment added than the INEC address and the Nigerian constitution, none that I am acquainted of.
“I acquire been actuality for over four years and I acquire not taken even a bottle of baptize from politicians and they all would affirm that to whoever cares to acquisition out. I acquire never compromised or abandonment the aboriginal ethics of a accurate adjudicator but rather I acquire been accurate to them to the celebrity of God.”
The Ondo Accompaniment REC, Mr. Olusegun Agbaje, who aswell talked boxy on the matter, said he would not alternate to betrayal any baby-kisser who attempts to adaptation him.
He said, “Any anatomy of ability or favour at this time if acclamation is at duke is unacceptable. A baby-kisser or a governor who has not talked to you afore and now calls you to accordance you a favour or gifts, you should apperceive there is something ambiguous about that and we acquire to be careful.
“If any baby-kisser offers me a allowance I will betrayal him, at atomic to my organisation because such ability or favours could aswell be acclimated as blackmail. So, it is bigger to accomplish it accepted in the absorption of the candor of INEC.”
Asked what would appear if such ability were directed to his spouse, he said it was absurd for politicians to ability his spouse.
Agbaje said, “My apron is not actuality with me and I don’t see anyone aggravating to ability her with gifts. That is even not possible, I will not acquiesce that.”
The Kano Accompaniment REC, Alhaji Mukaila Abdullahi, said he would be guided by the law of the acreage which forbids accession and giving of ability in a aeon like this.
He said, ‘’I anticipate it is bright that the law of the acreage administering the accessible appointment do not acquiesce accepting of any anatomy of allowance and as abundant as possible, I am animated to say that INEC is acquainted of the charge to be independent.”
According to him, accepting of a allowance is a bribe.
Abdullahi said, ‘’I acquire again said that as abundant as possible, we chronicle with everybody, all the politicians, as able-bodied as with all the political parties, we accordance them according opportunities and admission to advice and if there is any acumen whatsoever for somebody to tip you with a gift, it accept to be alone in all ramifications.’’
The Niger Accompaniment REC, Nasir Olarewaju Ayilara, told Saturday PUNCH in Minna that: “RECs should not abject their plan on whatever anybody is bringing to them. We accept to backpack out our duties with no abhorrence of bucking or agitation of any affectionate as far as elections are concerned.
“It is amiss to aggregate ability from politicians; it is not accustomed but what is actual bright is that there is no way a REC can accomplish his job after accepting to accord with the accompaniment government. So, the appointment cannot be an island, but one should be alert of the accordance amid the government and the INEC.”
On the achievability of alms ability to the spouses of RECs, Ayilara said, “Politicians are accessible to do annihilation to get what they want, but it depends on the training and ability of the family. If the abode is appropriately able they will not get you through your wife.”
In Ogun State, REC Timothy Ibitoye said no baby-kisser had offered him any allowance back he was acquaint to the accompaniment backward endure year.
He said the alone baby-kisser who had appear to his appointment was the accompaniment governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, who came to accuse about the apathetic clip of supply of Permanent Voter Cards in the state.
Ibitoye explained that he did not crave any allowance from any baby-kisser because he is a contented person.
The Delta Accompaniment REC, Mr. Anidi Ikowak, said INEC admiral who compromised their positions during the balloter action would be dismissed.
Ikowak told Saturday PUNCH that INEC had taken into application the actuality that as animal beings, some balloter admiral could adaptation their positions with candidates and added stakeholders during the balloter action and had devised agency of ambidextrous with such situations.
Ikowak, who said he was not acquainted of anyone who had approved to adaptation him or his workers, said, “There are laws in the country that INEC would not acquire to accomplish new laws to yield affliction of bodies that adaptation and aggregate ability or added items.
“Everybody has been warned so that you don’t adaptation your position or work. Our agents and those we recruit as adhoc agents acquire been told to be aloof as referees in the advance of the elections.
“And INEC itself alive that we are ambidextrous with animal beings has been aggravating to accompany in innovations that would accumulate agents from accomplishing assertive things.”
He said that agents of the agency had the appropriate to address humans that attack to allurement them application harder affirmation to the aegis agencies.
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