Anugbum Onuoha, who is related to a politician and minister, Nyesom Wike, has asked political parties in Edo State to provide proof that he is not good at his job before the upcoming governorship election.
Onuoha, the Edo Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), will be in charge of the election on Saturday. He stated during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily monitored by tunnexreporters that he is capable of organizing a fair election in Edo State. He also asked political parties to ignore claims of possible favoritism made against him. Tony Aziegbemi, who is the Edo PDP chairman, requested the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to move Onuoha to a different position because of his connection with Wike. Aziegbemi said he didn’t trust the REC to run a fair election in the state.
But the Chief Press Secretary of INEC, Rotomi Oyekanmi, said they will not move the Edo REC. He told the PDP to concentrate on the election and not worry about Onuoha. Oyekanmi promised that the election will be fair. Onuaha mentioned that being related to Wike doesn’t matter, as he is qualified for the job. “I am related to the minister, but that doesn’t affect my abilities.” I was invited by the Senate for a screening before my appointment. After being confirmed, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu swore me in, and I was then posted to Edo. No one has complained about me being related to the minister since last year. It is true that I am the minister’s cousin. Right now, we need to focus on being able to hold the election. I have experience as an Associate Professor of Law and also served as an electoral commissioner in Rivers State. People may wonder if I have previous experience in this role, and the answer is yes. No one has raised any concerns. I attend the university. I am not involved in politics. Just because I am related to Wike as his cousin, doesn’t mean I can’t be chosen for the position.
I am an Associate Professor of Law with experience as an electoral commissioner in Rivers State. People may wonder if I have done this job before, and the answer is yes. No one has made any complaints. I am arriving from the university. I am not involved in politics. Just because I am related to Wike doesn’t mean I can’t be chosen for a job. I am a Nigerian, so we should be more open-minded about this. Onuoha asked all the political parties in Edo State to show proof of what he did wrong that led to their criticism. He is prepared for the Edo election and promises to treat all political parties equally. At the end of the day, the people of Edo will have a fair election. Onuaha mentioned that everything is ready for the Saturday governor elections, and important materials have been sent to the local areas. The political parties finished their campaigns yesterday at midnight. We only have one thing left to do, which is the election tomorrow. The INEC is all set for the election. Yesterday, we handed out important materials. Before deploying the sensitive materials to their local governments, we invited all stakeholders, including 18 political parties and their agents, to inspect them. They were satisfied after checking everything and had no reservations, as confirmed by a Channels Television interview.
Recall that Governor Wike had previously mentioned on Politics Today that he would not support Governor Godwin Obaseki. The FCT Minister called the governor ungrateful. He said he won’t help the governorship candidate supported by the outgoing Edo State Governor. He made it clear that he won’t support anyone. The person I helped did not improve at all. Instead, I was insulted. “I helped him before, why did things turn out this way?” “I feel like I made a foolish decision,” Wike admitted. He clarified that he does not belong to the All Progressives Congress (APC) when questioned about supporting their governorship candidate, Monday Okpebholo.
