Ahead of the forthcoming election scheduled to take place on February 25, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed it’s plan to work with the Lagos state parks management committee for the distribution of election materials and officials throughout the state.
Recall that days ago, Musiliu Arinde Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, volunteered that his union, National Union of Road Transport Workers NURTW, be used to move election materials around Lagos state for easy and fast logistics.
Many Nigerians frowned at the volunteer and saw it as a free means to rig the election because, Oluomo is a strong ally to the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
However, in a recent development, the Lagos state INEC resident electoral commissioner, Olusegun Agbaje, spoke on Tuesday February 7 during the inter-agency consultative committee on election security (ICCES) meeting at the commission’s office in Lagos, revealed that they have no option than to work with the MC Oluomo-led parks committee.
Agbaje said: “There is a ban on the NURTW and RTEAN, we are only left with the Park Management system and NARTO (National Association of Road Transport Owners) and we are already working with NARTO.
“NARTO is not even able to meet up with 40 percent of our vehicle requirements for this election. The commission in Lagos State does not have any option than to use park management system.
“We are not dealing with Oluomo, we are dealing with the park managers. Individual people that have vehicles are those we are going to use.
“So, it will be working against the law if INEC has to continue to work with NURTW or any other group that is proscribed in the state.
“At the Central Bank of Nigeria where they are going to move our materials, there will be security agencies and party agents including the military to monitor and escort these vehicles from CBN to Local Government Areas (LGAs).
“So, I don’t see how this can compromise the election in any way. Our politicians should see the peculiarity in Lagos State; we cannot work with banned NURTW or RTEAN.
“We need over 5,000 vehicles for this election, including trucks, buses and so on to carry our people and materials for the elections. There is no other way we can go.
“We cannot go to other states and bring vehicles here, it is not allowed by law. The only way we can operate is through the park management system.
“These are the only people that can give us any type of vehicles. In fact, most of the NURTW drivers are working with the park management system.”
This disclosure has since stirred up negative reactions from netizens who see the decision as a clear cut means to rig the election, in favor of the APC candidates in the state.