President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been urged by a coalition of Akwa Ibom civil society organizations to remove Mr. Etekamba Umoren from his position as the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) State Resident Electoral Commissioner appointee.
The group claims that Umoren is an All Progressives Congress (APC) card-carrying member in Akwa Ibom State who ran campaign ads for the party during the election.
The six-member coalition, led by Otuekong Franklyn Isong, Director of the Center for Human Rights and Accountability Network (CHRAN), announced their positions in a press conference held in Uyo. They claimed that Umoren’s appointment would erode public confidence in the commission and jeopardize the confidence of other political parties in it.They maintained that the appointment will taint next elections in Nigeria and has already incited indignation among the populace.
We all urge that Mr. Etekamba Umoren’s appointment to the position of Resident Electoral Commissioner in INEC from Akwa Ibom State be revoked by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the interest of the public.
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That in order for Mr. Etekamba Umoren to be appointed as an INEC Commissioner, he must not be nonpartisan as specified by Section 156(1)(a) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution.
“That Mr. Etekamba Umoren is not only a card-carrying member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, but he is also an active politician who has served in a number of political capacities under the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), most notably as the Secretary to the Government of Akwa Ibom State, prior to his August 8, 2018, defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress.”
“That, when Senator Godswill Akpabio was the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Ministry, his last political appointment was Chief of Staff to Senator Akpabio,” they said.
