The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has distanced
itself from some of its officials that has been arrested and detained in
connection with the alleged $115 million 2015 election largess by
former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
Some INEC staff have been accused of collecting a cumulative N23 million
as bribe from Fidelity Bank as directed by Diezani for alleged rigging
of the election.Speaking to a group of Editors in Lagos yesterday May
9th, the chairman of the agency, Mahmood Yakubu, said it was the
individuals and not the agency as an institution that is being
investigated.
The body appealed for the antigraft agency to also extend its
investigations and arrest to the givers of the bribe to the INEC staffs.
“Whatever level of cooperation any of the agencies requires of the
Commission, we will give that level of cooperation because it is also in
a bid to sanitize the system. I hope also it (investigation) will
extend to the givers not just the takers so that there will be
collective sanity. Whoever violates the law of this land and there are
questions to answer, the person should answer, the person should bear
his own cross. All the staff that are fingered are individuals. It is
not a collective institutional thing. They should go and answer for what
they have alleged to have done.”he said
Notable among the INEC staff accused of bribery are the former Resident
Electoral Commissioner in Rivers state, Gesila khan, INEC’s
Administrative Secretary in Delta State, Uluochi Obi Brown, former
Deputy Director of INEC in Cross River state, Edem Okon Effanga, and the
Head of Voter Education in INEC in Akwa Ibom, Immaculata Asuquo
