The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said any action capable of creating the impression of harassment of its officials or infringement of the independence of the commission must be avoided, especially at this critical period of its preparations for the 2023 general election.
INEC said this in reaction to the media reports that Johnson Sinikiem, its Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Edo State, was invited and detained by the State’s Police Command on Thursday.
Festus Okoye, national commissioner and chairman, of the information and voter education committee, INEC, in a statement on Friday, said the purported police action was in connection with matters arising from the recent primaries conducted by a political party in Edo.
Okoye confirmed that the REC was invited, but the Edo State Police Command has issued a statement to clarify that he was only invited to provide insight into some technical issues regarding the commission’s processes and nothing more.
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The INEC chief spokesperson said Sinikiem was neither detained nor is he personally under investigation as media reports suggested.
“While we welcome the clarification by the Police Command, we wish to point out that any other official of the Commission assigned by the REC could have provided the required insight. Alternatively, a visit to our State Office by the Commissioner of Police or his assigned representative could have achieved the same goal as has been the tradition in our collaborative relationship with security agencies.
“For emphasis, our REC in Edo State, Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem, is a conscientious public officer and co-chairman of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) at the state level.
“He was the sitting REC when the last governorship election was conducted in Edo State on September 19, 2020, which was adjudged to be free, fair and credible,” Okoye stated.
