Over 20 INEC Commissioners to go before 2023 elections – REC

The Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Niger State, Prof Sam Egwu, has disclosed that the tenure of over 20 RECs will elapse in June and August, few months to the 2023 elections.

He stated this on Monday while speaking to journalists after the first stakeholders meeting at the headquarters of the commission in Minna.

He said, “By the end of June, about 20 Resident Electoral Commissioners will leave and that will include those who have served their second term and therefore, would not be eligible for reappoinment. And in August, another set will also leave.”

Egwu, who is among those whose tenure would elapse, having served his second term as REC, stressed the need for timely appointment of new people to ensure that there is no distruption to the electoral process.

He said building institutions was key to addressing political and electoral problems in the country, lamenting that lack of organisation, internal democracy and abuse of trust among political parties had become a band of Nigerian democracy and electoral processes.

“After electing the officials, some of them will change their mobile numbers; voters no longer have access to them to lay their problems. The attitude of our elected leaders is the major factor responsible for voter apathy. Some voters, after trekking kilometers to vote ended up not getting benefits in return. Our political leaders must change their ways of doing things,” he said.

Egwu called for support of traditional rulers, civil society organisations and the media in educating voters to exercise their civic right in the coming elections.