Delta Polls Credible — INEC Boss


By Lucky Oyibo


THE ACTING Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Hajiya Amina Zakari, yesterday gave pass mark to the Commission in Delta State for the successful conduct of the 2015 general elections, saying all the election results upheld by the Delta State Elections Petitions Tribunals from the House of Assembly to the governorship were an affirmation of enhanced credibility to the commission.

Hajiyah Zakari stated this while commissioning the INEC Conference Hall constructed by the leadership of the state headquarters of the commission led by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Elder Abasi Aniedi Ikoiwak, in Asaba.

The Acting INEC Chairman who was represented by the National Commissioner, Amb. Lawrence Nwuruku, said the leadership of the Commission will not leave any stone unturned to rid the Commission of electoral malpractices and election irregularities.

Zakari congratulated the State REC for stamping his name in the sands of time through the construction of the Conference Hall and the presentation of Awards to his staff for improved productivity.

She said the INEC Headquarters would address the challenges facing the Commission in Delta State, saying that INEC under the watch of Prof. Attahiru Jega had constantly promoted staff and enhanced the welfare of its workers.

According to her, the new INEC will consolidate on the gains made to ensure that challenges facing the staff at the state headquarters of the commission are adequately addressed.

The State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Elder Abasi Ikoiwak pledged to sustain and add value to the laudable feat which the commission has recorded in its resolve to provide electoral services necessary for entrenching democracy in the country.

He listed inadequate accommodation and staff career progression as some of the challenges affecting the staff of the commission in the state, appealing to the leadership of INEC at the Federal level to ameliorate the problem.

The Chairman, Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC), Mr Moses Ogbe, Delta State Branch Controller of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dame Elizabeth Agu and the representative of the Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, described the state REC as a result-oriented electoral umpire who has in no small measure contributed to the progress of the commission in the country.

Ogbe specifically described him as an election guru, disclosing that all the elections which he had supervised have never been faulted by any tribunal in the country.

K