Makanjuola Ogundipe
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State has demanded for the immediate removal of Professor Abubakar Momoh as the Director General of The Electoral Institute (TEI), saying; "Momoh's position as the Director General of TEI is capable of casting credibility questions on future elections to be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Ekiti State PDP, which gave INEC 14-days ultimatum to remove Prof Momoh, said evidences abound of the former Lagos State University (LASU) lecturer's relationship with top functionaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a release issued in Ado-Ekiti today, State Chairman of the PDP, Mr. Makanjuola Ogundipe, insisted that Momoh’s choice was faulty based on his antecedents in the political life of the country.
He recalled that; "Momoh was among loyalists of the defunct Action Congress (AC) that were sponsored to disguise as Election Observers during the 2009 governorship rerun election in Ekiti State.
"He was caught with already prepared election results alongside Fuad Oki, a loyalist of Senator Bola Tinubu, who was as at that time a commissioner in the Lagos State Civil Service Commission.
"The same Momoh was also at the Election Tribunal to give evidence in support of Governor Kayode Fayemi.
"Not only that, he had also served on the Board of a Non Governmental Organisation, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), which is owned by Fayemi.
"How then can a man, who had openly associated with top leaders of the APC to the extent that he gave evidence to support Governor Fayemi's case be the one to supervise the training of INEC electoral officers, and other election-day adhoc staff of the commission?
"Can Momoh’s neutrality in any future poll be guaranteed?
"Could he have probably been placed in such a sensitive position to manipulate coming governorship polls in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states?
"We as a party in Ekiti State therefore reject the appointment of Prof Momoh as TEI Director General and we demand that he should be removed forthwith because with him in such a sensitive position, we have no assurance that the 2014 governorship election in Ekiti State will be free, fair and credible."