Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, a well-known member of Osun State’s All Progressives Congress (APC), has commended President Bola Tinubu for firing three Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) who were found to have engaged in improper behavior during the general elections of 2023.
Three officials from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are impacted by this decision: Nura Ali from Sokoto, Hudu Yunusa-Ari from Adamawa, and Ike Uzochukwu from Abia.
In an interview with media in Osogbo on Sunday, Oyintiloye also thanked the Senate for granting the President’s request to have the suspended RECs removed.
Dismissing these RECs, he underlined, would greatly discourage others, encourage responsibility, and aid in reestablishing public confidence in the nation’s electoral system.
“I would want to applaud the President for taking the audacious decision to revoke the suspended RECs’ appointments.
“This shows that the president is eager to hold an election that Nigerians can be proud of, one that is free, fair, and credible.”
Other RECs with like characteristics will be discouraged by the suspension and termination of the appointments of the three RECs: Nura Ali (Sokoto), Hudu Yunusa-Ari (Adamawa), and Ike Uzochukwu (Abia).
“This will serve as a lesson to other public servants that the country is moving forward, as the President has pledged to fight corruption,” he said.
Former lawmaker Oyintiloye commended INEC for the RECs’ disciplinary actions in March 2023.
The APC leader remembered that Yunusa-Ari had been suspended for illegally taking on the position of Returning Officer during the Adamawa gubernatorial election and for announcing the results without authorization.
He pointed out that Ali and Uzochukwu were suspended for failing to perform their jobs, and that Ali was being sued for alleged bribery.
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The prosecution of Prof. Ignatius Udok for electoral fraud was also praised by Oyintiloye, who said it demonstrated INEC’s commitment to upholding election integrity.
He said that Udok’s imprisonment by an Akwa Ibom State High Court in Uyo, where he was the Returning Officer for the Essien Udim State Constituency in the 2019 general elections, is a major sign that the nation’s electoral reforms are making headway.
Oyintiloye, however, emphasized that the President’s efforts to combat corruption are starting to have results and asked him to keep up the good work.
