TICC Demands Explanation Over Substitution of Polling Officers
By Waliu Adetokun, Osogbo
The Imole Campaign Council (TICC) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to explain the alleged last-minute substitution of Presiding Officers (POs) and Assistant Presiding Officers (APOs) ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State.
The campaign council said some National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members who were earlier listed, accredited and trained by INEC to serve as electoral officials had been replaced with names of persons who, according to the council, did not participate in the commission’s training.
In a statement issued on Friday and signed by the Chairman of its Media and Publicity Committee, Representative Bamidele Salam, TICC said the development had raised concerns among its agents across the state.
The council alleged that the names of trained corps members had been removed from the list in some areas and replaced with those of persons who were not on the initial list.
According to the statement, “Information received from our party agents across the state indicates that the names of some corps members who had been duly listed, accredited and trained by INEC have strangely been replaced with names of persons who were never part of the training exercises conducted by the Commission for the election.”
TICC said the alleged changes were particularly disturbing because Presiding Officers and Assistant Presiding Officers play important roles in the conduct of elections.
“Any unexplained last-minute alteration to their identities could undermine public confidence in the transparency and credibility of the election,” the council said.
The campaign council specifically mentioned Egbedore, Atakumosa East and Atakumosa West Local Government Areas, alleging that the list of Presiding Officers and their assistants was changed on Friday.
It said, “All the corpers and ad hoc staff trained have been replaced. Strange names that were not on the initial list and never attended INEC training were suddenly posted this morning to serve as electoral officials.”
The council also alleged that some Local Government Collation Officers had been changed without explanation, describing the development as “an assault on the integrity of INEC to conduct a free and fair election.”
TICC called on INEC to immediately clarify the reasons for the reported substitutions and disclose the identities and credentials of the newly deployed electoral officials.
It also urged the Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier-General Olakunle Nafiu, to engage INEC and verify the identities of persons being deployed under the NYSC arrangement.
The council said the verification was necessary to prevent unauthorised persons from being deployed as electoral officials under the guise of serving as corps members.
“This is necessary to prevent a situation in which political thugs, persons of partisan interest or other unauthorised persons could be disguised in NYSC regalia and deployed as polling officers for ulterior political purposes,” the statement said.
The campaign council further expressed concern about the safety of genuine corps members who would be deployed for election duties.
“Beyond the integrity of the election, this development raises serious concerns about the safety of genuine corps members. Innocent young Nigerians should not be placed in dangerous environments alongside individuals whose identities and affiliations have not been properly verified,” it said.
TICC urged INEC to conduct proper verification of all substituted officers and ensure that only duly trained, identified and accredited personnel are allowed to conduct the election at polling units across Osun State.
The council also appealed to the electoral commission to resist any pressure that could compromise the credibility of the election or put the lives of corps members at risk.
“The integrity of the electoral process and the safety of our young corps members must take precedence over every partisan or political consideration,” the council said.
