President Buhari’s INEC Commissioner nominee is an APC member

 

BY OUR EDITOR

President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominee as a Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) from Osun State, Raheem Muideen Olalekan Tuesday told the Senate that he was a card-carrying member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Answering questions when he appeared before the Senator Kabiru Gaya (APC, Kano South) led Senate Committee for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Muideen Olalekan said, “I am a member of APC. I am a member of APC and I contested for local government chairmanship in 2013.”

The 46-year-old academic told the committee that he is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In spite of efforts of the committee members to help him with leading questions on his membership being old and not in possession of the party membership card, the nominee still maintained his loyalty to the APC.

His acceptance as APC member, however, confirmed a petition against his nomination by one Oyebade Adebisi Abideen, alleging that he has openly supported a particular political party which negates part of the constitutional criteria for INEC Commissioner.

Muideen who was taken off-guard by the last-minute surface of the petition against his nomination failed repeatedly to respond favourably to questions that may have offered him a soft landing as the Senators repeatedly sought to make him explain his membership of the party.

To help him out, the Senate committee asked the nominee to return in two days for more interrogation on his qualification or otherwise for this job.

In his contribution, a member of the Committee, Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central) said that the committee cannot be seen to be endorsing a violation of the Nigerian constitutional which clearly provides that occupant of the office of the INEC Commissioner must be apolitical.

On his part, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau (APC, Kano Central) had sought to know if the nominee was a former member of the APC and when he last appeared at her function.

While answering questions from the Senate Committee, the nominee faltered severally as he tried to remove himself from the allegation.

The nominee who claimed that he left politics in 2013 to return to school to study psychology at advance level, but when accosted with pictures of his campaign in 2017 in support of a particular governorship aspirant, however explained that the group named “tiwa tiwa” was a band of members of multi-political leanings but favourably disposed to the candidature of its financier who belonged to a pool party.

He said, “I am a member of APC. I am a member of APC and I contested for local government chairmanship in 2013. In 2015, I left politics and moved on to the University of Ibadan to go and study psychology.

“I had the card then when I had the intention of contesting for election. On the question, if I was a DG of a contestant, Yes I was DG of a contestant in 2017.”

RELIABLE SOURCE NIGERIA