Edo State branch of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the list of ad-hoc staff the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, plans to use for the conduct of the February 16, 2019 Presidential and National Assembly elections in the state.
In a press statement in Benin on Monday, signed by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Chris Nehikhare, the PDP referred to the directive which requested University vice-chancellors to provide a list of their members of staff who would be used as ad-hoc staff.
PDP alleged that in Edo State, INEC has been handed a list of APC card carrying members and operatives as University of Benin staff by the vice chancellor, adding: “The list we are informed was written in government house Benin and handed over to the VC for transmission to INEC.”
“This purported INEC ad-hoc staff list must be completely discarded as it is a recipe for chaos and poses a great danger to our nascent democracy. We reject it and condemn the politicalisation of the “employment” of APC members as ad-hoc staff to manage the election process.
“We call on the vice chancellor of the University of Benin not to allow himself to be used. He must do the right thing by withdrawing the scandalous list he was prevailed upon to submit, and hand over one made up of genuine staff of University of Benin. The forth coming election must not only be free, fair and transparent, it must be seen to be so!”
