By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has advised Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara against misleading the public on political defections, particularly those involving lawmakers.
INEC’s Chief Press Secretary, (CPS), Rotimi Oyekanmi, made this known in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja.
Oyekanmi issued the statement in reaction to a statement credited to Governor Fubara.
He noted that INEC’s attention was drawn to the referenced statement where Fubara accused the commission of selective conduct of elections to fill vacancies arising from the defections of serving members of the National and State Assemblies from one political party to the other.
Oyekanmi said that while no specific instances of the alleged selective actions were presented, the statement specifically accused the commission of deliberate failure to fill the vacancies resulting from the protracted crisis in the Rivers State House of Assembly where two factions are jostling for control.
He said, “In the midst of the crisis, three or so lawmakers have declared the seats of 27 members vacant and vice versa.
“While the Commission is aware of the situation in the Rivers State House of Assembly, the matter is pending in court and, therefore, sub judice.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Commission has been joined in several suits filed by litigants at various courts, including the Supreme Court.
“Under the circumstances, the Commission must await the final judicial pronouncement on the matter before it embarks on a puerile exercise that may eventually amount to a nullity and a waste of public funds.
“We urge people occupying high public offices to be circumspect in their public statements before they mislead the public and cast aspersion on public institutions, particularly where they are aware of the pendancy of cases in court.”
