Ahead of the preparation for the 2023 general election, the Commissioner for Information and voter Education for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Festus Okoye has disclosed that the commission is under pressure from Nigerians to ensure that it delivers on its mandate. The INEC commissioner made this known while speaking on the Channel Television program, ‘Politics Today’ this morning as a guest.
When Mr. Okoye was asked if the commission was under pressure, he answered in the affirmative that “Yes, there is pressure on the commission. There is pressure from the Nigerian people on the commission (INEC) to conduct, free, fair, transparent, and inclusive elections. So we are under pressure from the Nigerian people and that’s the only pressure I know about.”
He also explained that the process of removing an INEC chairman now has been fortified, he explained that INEC Chairman is a position that is very critical to the survival of a democratic process of a country, and therefore, a mechanism for his removal has been strengthened such that before the process will commence there must be first an allegation which must conform with the constitution.
“Thereafter the allegation must be taken to the president and the president now approaches the National Assembly asking the Senate in this instance to remove the electoral management body.”
Unlike before, where some interest groups will just cook some unfunded allegation against the chairman and get away with them, Okoye added.
