INEC
Court Remands Three INEC Staff in Ikoyi Prison for N177.3m fraud
The Lagos Zonal office of EFCC on Wednesday, August 1, 2018, arraigned the trio of Gbadegun Isaiah Abiodun, Oladipo Oladapo and Afolabi Peter Albert, before Justice Chuka Obiozor of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy and money laundering to the tune of N177, 300,000(One Hundred and Seventy-seven Million, Three Hundred Thousand Naira).
The defendants, who are staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Osun State, were alleged to have conspired amongst themselves to receive a cash payment of a sum of N177, 300,000 from a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke, on the eve of the 2015 general election, without going through a financial institution.
One of the counts reads: “That you, Gbadegun Isaiah Abiodun, Oladipo Oladapo and Afolabi Peter Albert and others at large, on or about the 30th day of March 2015 in Nigeria, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired amongst yourselves to accept a cash payment of the sum of N177,300,000( One Hundred and Seventy- seven Million, Three Hundred Thousand Naira Only), which exceeded the N5,000,000.00( Five Million Naira) Limit, without going through a financial institution, contrary to Section 18 and punishable under Section 16(2) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 (as amended by the Act NO.1 2012 ).”
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge preferred against them.
In view of their pleas, the prosecution counsel, Iheanacho Ekele, asked the court for a trial date and prayed that the defendants be remanded in prison custody. Counsel to the defendants, Dapo Esan, informed the court of application for bail, which was filed today, and prayed the court for a short adjournment to argue the application.
He also urged the court to remand the defendants in EFCC custody on the grounds of ill health. Consequently, Justice Obiozor adjourned the case to August 7, 2018 for hearing of the bail application and ordered the defendants to be remanded in Ikoyi prison.
Newly appointed REC from Akwa Ibom won’t be Sworn in Now
In separate comments to Steady Gist on Friday and Saturday, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education, Sam Olumekun, and the spokesperson for INEC Chairperson, Rotimi Oyekanmi, revealed this.
When Mr. Olumekun stated, “The new REC can only assume duties after the expiration of the current REC whose term expires later,” he was confirming Mr. Oyekanmi.
It would be uncommon for two RECs from the same state of origin to serve simultaneously, Mr. Oyekanmi stated earlier on Friday.
He subsequently sent out an additional explanation, stating that the newly appointed REC from Akwa Ibom will only enter office following the current one’s expiration in January of the following year.
“In January of next year, the current REC from Akwa Ibom State will come to an end. He texted our reporter, “The tenure of the new REC from the same Akwa Ibom State will only take effect after the end of the current one’s tenure.”
“Best practices”
According to Mr. Oyekanmi, the practice of appointing RECs ahead of each other’s tenure expiration could set a positive example.
“This is actually good practice, with the benefit of hindsight,” he declared on Saturday. “Having a REC-in-waiting is preferable to waiting until the current REC’s term ends before rushing to appoint a replacement.”
Because there wasn’t a position available for INEC national commissioner from Delta State when Lauretta Onochie was nominated two years ago, the 9th Senate Committee on INEC withdrew her nomination.
Tinubu’s unlawful appointments to the REC
According to a Steady Gist investigation, President Bola Tinubu erred when he appointed Mr. Umoren as the REC for Akwa Ibom state, even though Mr. Udo-Tom, the present REC for the state, had three months left in his five-year term. Since RECs and National Commissioners are prohibited by INEC statutes from holding office in their home states, Mr. Udo-Tom presently serves as the Delta State REC.
This newspaper also discovered that because Mr. Umoren was a member of Mr. Tinubu’s political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and a devoted and long-standing supporter of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, his nomination and subsequent confirmation by the Senate were unlawful.
This runs counter to the 1999 constitution’s Paragraph 14, Item F, which states unequivocally that political parties are not permitted to designate individuals to the electoral commission.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed Saturday February 16 for the conduct of the 2019 Presidential Elections.
The Commission also said the Governorship/State Assembly/Federal Capital Territory Area Council Elections will hold on Saturday March 2, 2019.
INEC has declared APC governorship candidate, Godwin Obaseki, winner of the Edo state governorship election. According to the electoral body, Obaseki polled a total of 319,483 votes while his main rival and PDP candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, polled 253,173 votes.
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