Kano REC denies involvement in bribery allegation against INEC staff

• Cleric rules out reality of rescheduled polls

KANO State Resident E lec tora l Commissioner ( REC), Prof. Risqua Shehu, has denied involvement in the bribery allegation against Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) staff, insisting that he collected no inducement from anybody.

Shehu made the declaration yesterday while addressing journalists on the level of preparation ahead of the rescheduled presidential and national assembly elections.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) had accused the INEC commissioners in Kano of receiving $1 million from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to manipulate the result of the presidential election in their favour.

Fielding questions from journalists on the allegation, the don declared that he was not approached for any inducement and would never collect if offered.

He confirmed the arrival of all sensitive and nonsensitive materials from the 44 councils.

“I am glad to inform you that we have now received all the sensitive and nonsensitive materials we require for the conduct of the elections. We have sorted and batched them according to councils and their retrieval by CBN for safekeeping.”

According to him, INEC registered 5,457,744 voters, with 587,440 Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCS) uncollected.

However, if the prediction of Rev. Evans Chimeremeze is anything to go by, the presidential and National Assembly polls re- scheduled for Saturday, February 23, will not hold.

The founder of Praise and Truth Worship Centre, Ngbaja Amawon Oboro in Ikwuano Council of Abia State disclosed this to journalists at the NUJ Press Centre, Umuahia, the state capital.

He asserted: “There will not be election in Nigeria because God is angry with Nigerians.