Non-appointment of RECs a threat to elections — CSOs

The non-appointment of Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in 33 of the 36 states of the federation is a threat to the 2019 general elections, various civil society groups said in Abuja yesterday.

Addressing a joint press conference, leaders of the Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement (YIAGA), the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Partners for Electoral Reform (PER) and Watching The Vote (WTV) observed that only Kaduna State would be left with a REC by July this year.

They said the retirement of the RECs in Taraba, Delta and Rivers states by the middle of this year will compound the challenges bedeviling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

YIAGA’s Executive Director, Samson Itodo; his counterpart in CISLAC, Awal Musa Rafsanjani; Chairman of PER, Ezenwa Nwagwu and Cynthia Mbamalu of the WTV, however, commended INEC under the chairmanship of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, for planning ahead and announcing the dates for the 2019 elections.

“This is a positive development in our electoral process to ensure proper planning for the 2019 elections. However, it seems the proactive disposition of INEC may be thwarted by the inaction of President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint RECs in 33 states with less than 23 monthsto the 2019 general elections.

“Recently, five RECs bowed out of office following the expiration of their term. As at July 2016, there were 22 states without RECs and within the space of 7 months, 11 RECs completed their term bringing the total number of states without RECs to 33,” they said.