New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has lamented that the use of University Dons as returning officers during elections has done more damage to the country’s electoral process and there was a need to review the process.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Agbo Major, in Abuja, told newsmen that the use of University Dons as supervisory officers to the commission’s staff compromises the poll, noting that the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, must look inwards and make INEC employees returning officers during elections.
He told the INEC Boss that “staff that are well trained and grounded for the job should be the ones that are used for this assignment, while your colleagues from the universities that you are bringing should now work under them.”
Agbo disclosed that the move would narrow checking of election excesses to specific people “who are paid government workers and that are on oath”. According to him, “These people they bring from outsiders who eventually head the polling units as presiding officers and even as collation officers are not under any oath as staff of INEC. They could do anything no matter how damaging that thing is, and get with it”.
He said that the NNPP has insisted on this initiative for a long time, even as he maintained that the “INEC staff themselves know that it has become very difficult to manipulate the process.”
He further said that the electoral body has undergone a lot of technological advancements and it is very difficult to manipulate the system as the newly deployed Bimodal Verification System (BIVAS) ensures a balance between what is in the server and the actual vote count.
On the alleged appointment of card-carrying members of the governing APC into the INEC Board, the opposition party spokesman called on the government to listen to the plea of Nigerians on the matter. He stressed that the success of the exercise can only be guaranteed by those saddled with the responsibility of conducting it.
Agbo however expressed confidence in the ability of INEC to conduct a successful election, adding that the body has so far proven that it is set for a hitch-free exercise.
