The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) request to reassign Edo State’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Anugbum Onuoha, ahead of the governorship election on September 21.
The PDP raised concerns about Onuoha’s family ties with Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Wike had previously supported Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki’s second-term bid under the PDP but is now affiliated with the All Progressives Congress (APC). The PDP fears that Onuoha, who has previously worked with Wike, may bias the election results in favor of the APC.
Edo State PDP Chairman, Anthony Aziegbemhin, formally requested Onuoha’s redeployment from INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu, citing Onuoha’s past roles under Wike’s administration as evidence of potential bias.
However, INEC’s Chief Press Secretary, Rotimi Oyekanmi, stated that Onuoha would remain in his position. Oyekanmi assured that the election would be conducted impartially across 4,519 polling units and that results would be transparently uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing portal using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
The PDP’s request comes amid heightened tensions, with Obaseki and the PDP resisting signing a peace accord and warning of possible unrest if their concerns are not addressed.
