INEC meets political parties, promises to screen ad hoc staff for criminal records

INDEPENDENT National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Ekiti State on Thursday met with political parties and other stakeholders in the state ahead of the coming general election and promised that the commission would screen all ad hoc staff members it would engage for the election for criminal records.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ekiti, Professor Abduganiy Raji, who stated this on Thursday while addressing the stakeholders at the meeting held at the INEC secretariat in Ado Ekiti, said they would screen to verify if any one of them had criminal records with the police and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The INEC announced that of the total 921,027 registered voters in the state, the commission had distributed 664,379 permanent voter cards (PVCs) while a total of 256,648 PVCs remain uncollected as the election approaches.

Professor Raji said INEC would be painstaking in digging deep into the records of the ad hoc staff, who will be members of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and those working with federal higher institutions and Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) under the FG to ascertain the records of those that will conduct such sensitive elections.

The stakeholders include; political parties under the aegis of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Joint National Association of People Living With Disabilities (JONADIP) and religious bodies.

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Raji said: “We are hiring the services of police and NDLEA to test whether the ad hoc staff to be used are having criminal records or are those that are used to hard drugs. We can’t use criminals to conduct elections or drug abusers and be expecting good results.”

He warned the staff of the commission against compromise, saying anyone caught sabotaging INEC will not only be dismissed but would be jailed in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act and 1999 constitution.

Raji added that only those working with federal higher institutions and MDAs and are above grade level 10 would be eligible to apply as ad hoc staff.

He also allayed the fears in town that the PVCs were being cloned by politicians, saying: “Those doing that will end up being disappointed. Our database can’t be hacked by anybody, because our ICT network was customized in a way that would be hack-free.

“Even our workers who are working in the ICT have limitations, there is a limit to which they can go. In clear terms, the cloned PVCs can’t work with our smart card readers.

“We heard people are selling their PVCs, this would not help anybody. But how can people be selling their future? Even if you are given a sum of N20,000, would that be enough to take you throughout four years? So, our people must stop selling their future,” he advised.

The INEC boss promised that the commission won’t disappoint and disgrace Nigerians in the conduct of the elections.

Raji assured the JONADIP members that enough provisions have been made for them to be able to vote without hindrance and recruit their members who satisfy the criteria spelt out to be fit as ad hoc staff in the conduct of the coming elections.

The IPAC Chairman in the State, Mr Ilesanmi Omolayo, appealed to political parties to start mobilizing the people on the need to collect their PVCs in readiness for the elections.