Nigeria’s electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC in Cross River has been accused of receiving the sum of Five million naira (N5,000,000.00) only from the Cross River State Government (CRSG) as incentive to compromise the Thursday called-off Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) state elections.
This accusation was made by the secretary of IPAC in the state, Mr Ntami Esege, who asserted that the National Legal Adviser and National Chairman of Labour Party, Mr Julius Abureh Esq ‘came to Calabar for two missions: to acquire enough money through compromise, and to install his Labour Party state Chair as IPAC state Chair’.
Recall that NEGROIDHAVEN while reporting the cancellation of the IPAC Cross River elections quoted the National Legal Adviser of IPAC, Mr Abureh, who said that the elections was cancelled as a result of the ungovernable nature of IPAC Cross River members during the electoral exercise. When asked whether there was a new date for the cancelled elections, he said no, stating that he will announce that subsequently.
Anthony Bissong Attah the YPP State Chair and incumbent IPAC Cross River chair who is a contestant for IPAC state chair disclosed that Abureh did not notify every member of Friday’s reschedule for elections. According to him ‘Abureh notified only two of my supporters. I also received the invitation SMS’.
Continuing, Attah said the EPM of INEC when approached this morning for the possibility of IPAC elections said I am not opening the office for any elections. But, as I talk with you has opened the INEC hall for elections contrary to initial position’, he concluded.
As at press time, efforts to reach INEC EPM proved abortive as he did not take nor return call to his phone.
