TheCable

The Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, a civil society organisation (CSO), says the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should not work with the Lagos parks management committee.

The committee is chaired by Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo.

On Tuesday, Olusegun Agbaje, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) resident electoral commissioner (REC) in Lagos, said he had no option other than to work with the parks committee to distribute election materials in the state.

Addressing journalists on Thursday, Sam Amadi, the CSO’s director, said working with the MC Oluomo-led committee is a “big risk”.

“Earlier this week, there was a report that the INEC is determined to use MC Oluomo’s logistic platform to handle sensitive materials for the elections in Lagos state in spite of being a decorated general in the presidential campaign of the APC,” Amadi said.

“The presidential candidate of the PDP has called on INEC not to employ MC Oluomo group for the movement of electoral materials because of the real possibility of undermining the credibility of the elections in Lagos state.

“INEC needs not to be told that any association with any platform under the control of MC Oluomo is a big risk. Whatever it will take for INEC to maintain credibility must be done. INEC should go the extra mile to ensure that it does not jeopardise the credibility of the elections it is conducting.

“Any dealing with MC Oluomo-controlled platform is a complete negation of objectivity and neutrality.

“We want to see INEC take a bold and correct decision in the MC Oluomo and APGA cases. In the case of MC Oluomo, INEC should disengage his road transport union from distribution of materials in Lagos state because of his obvious and open involvement in the presidential campaign of Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC.”