The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the appointment of Etekarnba Umoren as the Residential Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Akwa Ibom State.
This came following the Senate’s confirmation of Umoren, along with six others, as Residential Electoral Commissioners (RECs) on Wednesday.
The other confirmed RECs are Isah Ehimeakne (Edo), Oluwatoyin Babalola (Ekiti), Abubakar Ma’aji (Gombe), Shehu Wahab (Kwara), Aminu Idris (Nasarawa), and Mohammed Sadiq (Niger).
At a press conference held at the Wadata Plaza Headquarters of the PDP on Thursday, Debo Ologunagba, the PDP’s national publicity secretary, presented a photograph of Umoren wearing full-fledged All Progressive Congress (APC) regalia.
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Ologunagba revealed that Umoren is not only a card-carrying member of the APC but has actively participated in various APC campaigns in Akwa Ibom State.
Ologunagba called upon President Bola Tinubu to appoint a neutral person as the REC in Akwa Ibom, stressing that Umoren “is a cap-wearing, cloth-wearing, and dress-wearing member of the APC who has been actively involved in APC campaigns during various elections.”
He cited Section 141 of the Electoral Act 2022, which clearly stipulates that card-carrying members of any political party should not be appointed as INEC officials.