The National Electoral Commission, INEC, has fired back at Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for passing vote of no confidence on it ahead of the 2019 general elections.
The governors alleged that the commission had conducted itself as a tool of the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government.
The Chairman of the Forum, who is also the Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele Fayose, signed the communiqué of the meeting on behalf of his colleagues.
“For now, we have no confidence in INEC. The commission has conducted itself as a tool of the APC-led Federal Government, especially with the roles of the Chairman, Prof Mahmud Yakubu, and a National Commissioner, Mrs Amina Zakari,” Fayose had said.
Reacting, however, INEC said Nigerians believed in it to deliver free, fair and credible elections in 2019, noting that it was making efforts to improve on the electoral process.
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, said, “Since the inauguration of the current leadership of INEC in November 2015, the commission has been putting various measures in place to improve and strengthen the electoral process. And in doing so, the commission has also carried all stakeholders along. Not only that, by putting all our cards on the table at all times, INEC has continually demonstrated integrity, transparency and efficiency. The efforts are paying off.
“Only on August 31, the commission brought the Continuous Voter Registration to a close after registering 14.5 million voters in 16 months. The commission has also conducted about 190 different types of elections, including six governorship elections, none of which has been overturned.
“From the feedback we are getting from Nigerians, they are appreciative of our efforts and our pledge is that we will deliver free, fair and credible 2019 general elections.”
