INEC REC: CSOs ask Tinubu to withdraw Umoren’s appointment

The President of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has been urged by a coalition of Akwa Ibom civil society organizations to remove Mr. Etekamba Umoren from his position as State Resident Electoral Commissioner.

As to the group’s claims, Umoren is an All Progressives Congress (APC) card-carrying member from Akwa Ibom State who had participated in party campaigns during the elections.

The appointment of Umoren, according to the coalition of six members led by Otuekong Franklyn Isong, Director of the Center for Human Rights and Accountability Network (CHRAN), will exacerbate mistrust in the commission and jeopardize the confidence of other political parties in the commission. The coalition made their position known at a press conference held in Uyo.They said that Nigerians are already furious about the appointment and that it will taint upcoming elections in the nation.

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“We all urge that Mr. Etekamba Umoren’s appointment as an INEC resident electoral commissioner from Akwa Ibom State be revoked in the public interest by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“That, in order to be appointed as an INEC Commissioner, Mr. Etekamba Umoren does not fulfill the constitutional conditions of being non-partisan as specified by Section 156(1)(a) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 Constitution.

It is stated that Mr. Etekamba Umoren is not only a card-carrying member of the ruling All Progressives Congress but also a practicing politician who has served in a number of political capacities, most notably as the Secretary to the Government of Akwa Ibom State under the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), prior to his August 8, 2018, defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress.

They said, “That, his last political appointment was to be Senator Godswill Akpabio’s chief of staff while Senator Akpabio was the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Ministry.”