Mutiu Agboke, Resident Electoral Commissioner, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Osun State, has called on the public and political stakeholders to actively scrutinise the electoral process to ensure transparency and fairness.
Speaking at a public lecture at the 2024 Press Week of the Osun State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Agboke, who was the guest lecturer, talked about the growing mistrust in the electoral processes of the country.
He specifically expressed concern over the recent shift in focus from monitoring critical issues on elections to targeting INEC officials without valid cause.
He encouraged citizens and political actors to question INEC’s procedures, closely monitor the actions and behaviour of electoral officials, and hold them accountable for any irregularities.
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The REC said, “In recent times, we discovered that political stakeholders have shifted their attention from the issues they are supposed to monitor, the target is now the officials of the commission and I felt there is no need for all this unless you see that clearly a particular official has committed an infraction, an infraction that the commission should rise up to.
“The political stakeholders should shift their attention from thinking that they can rubbish officials of the commission, perhaps thinking that by doing that, they will have their way is not the way it should be. When you focus on that, you miss out monitoring the activities, you miss out the monitoring those officials to be able to know whether they are doing the right thing or not.”
Agboke also highlighted the importance of collaboration and communication with security agencies in addressing potential threats to election security.
He pledged INEC’s commitment to working alongside relevant authorities to maintain the safety and legitimacy of electoral activities in Osun State and beyond.
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