Ondo2020: See INEC Reaction After PDP Rejects Returning Officer—-The responsibility of appointing collation and returning officers lies within the power of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and it will not share it with groups, individuals or political parties, Festus Okoye maintains.
Festus Okoye, INEC’s National Commission and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee said this on Thursday in an interview in Abuja while reacting to some concerns by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, over an alleged attempt to compromise the outcome of the Saturday poll.
The Chairman of the PDP Ondo State Gubernatorial National Campaign Council, Seyi Makinde, who is also the Governor of Oyo State, had on Thursday raised alarm over the neutrality of INEC to conduct the poll.
Okoye has however said: “The commission has the sole responsibility of appointing collation officers for the various levels of collation.
“It will also appoint a returning officer for the governorship election.
“The commission never has and will never share the responsibility of appointing collation and returning officers with individuals, groups or political parties.
“All the collation officers must subscribe to the oath of neutrality and must exhibit the highest standards of professionalism and ethical conduct.
“At the end of the election on Saturday, there’ll be a returning officer for the governorship election.
“The collation at the state level will be beamed live in the major networks, and the agents of the political parties will be present.”
