Ekiti Election: INEC Commissioner Accused of Holding Secret Meeting With APC’s Leaders

• NOI’s opinion poll misleading, says Fayemi

Ogheneuvede Ohwovoriole in Abuja and Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

As political activities heat up, ahead of the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti State, a National Commissioner in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mrs. Amina Bala Zakari, has been accused of holding meeting with some leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos on how to manipulate the election.

This is coming as the Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation has described as misleading and deceptive, an opinion poll result conducted by information analysis firm, NOI polls, predicting victory for the governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Prof. Olusola Eleka, in the July 14 election.A group, the Elections Transparency Group (ETG), which made this allegation in a statement yesterday, stated that Zakari held a secret meeting with some APC national leaders, yesterday.

National Coordinator of ETG, Alhaji Kazeem Adekunle, alleged that Zakari attended the meeting in one of the APC’s leaders’ residence in Lagos with two INEC directors.
According to him, Zakari was in Lagos with the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to attend a ‘’Campus Outreach’’ — a sensitisation seminar at the University of Lagos, but left for the meeting without the knowledge of the INEC chairman.

“The newly elected National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole, who came to Lagos unannounced to attend the meeting, begged Zakari to do whatever he can to deliver the election to the APC, being the first election that will be held with him as the party national chairman’’, the statement stated.

“Amina Zakari, who is in charge of Operations in INEC and also has as the Director, ICT, Mrs. Bimbo Oladunjoye as one of her foot-soldiers. In fact, Mrs. Oladunjoye was one of the two directors that went with her to the meeting,” the statement added.

ETG said it was interested in ‘’free, fair and credible elections’’ in Nigeria, describing plan to manipulate the Ekiti election as dangerous to the survival of democracy in the country.
But when contacted over the matter, the Director in charge of Voter Education and Enlightenment at INEC, Mr. Mr Oluwole Osaze-Uzi, told THISDAY that he was not aware of any meeting between the national commissioner and APC national leaders.

He confirmed that Zakari was actually in Lagos with INEC Chairman and other senior staff members for a workshop at the University of Lagos, but added that the INEC commissioner was with other INEC staff members throughout the workshop before they all left for their hotel.