Pan-Igbo Youth Assembly Gives INEC Seven-Day Ultimatum to Remove National Commissioner, Ukeagu
By Everest Ezihe, Owerri
The Pan-Igbo Youth Assembly has given the national leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) a seven-day ultimatum to remove Mr. Ken Nnamdi Ukeagu, the National Commissioner overseeing Imo, Anambra and Ebonyi States, threatening to embark on mass protests and occupy INEC offices across the South-East and its national headquarters in Abuja if the demand is not met.
The group issued the ultimatum during a well-attended press conference held at a prestigious hotel in Owerri on Monday. The briefing was addressed by Comrade Noble Nkem Regius, spokesperson of the organisation.
The Assembly accused Ukeagu of allegedly leaking sensitive INEC documents and confidential electoral information to politicians and opposition interests, describing the allegation as a serious matter requiring urgent institutional attention.
Meanwhile, Mr. Wilfred Ifogah, INEC Deputy Director of Information and Publicity, Abuja said he’s not aware of the allegations but noting that such allegations are mostly unfounded and needs to be substantiated.
The group maintained that electoral information does not belong to any individual commissioner, political party or candidate but must remain protected by the institutional safeguards of INEC.
”Any allegation that such information has been made available to partisan interests demands immediate action by the Commission. The security of electoral information is fundamental to the integrity of the entire electoral process,” the group stated.
The Assembly further alleged that the growing controversy surrounding the commissioner’s conduct and alleged partisan activities had become too serious for INEC to handle with administrative silence.
According to the group, the credibility of elections depends largely on public confidence in the neutrality of officials entrusted with managing the electoral process.
”Where an electoral official is accused of compromising that neutrality, the responsible thing to do is to remove him from the sensitive assignment pending a thorough investigation. This is not persecution. It is a necessary safeguard for democratic sanity,” the organisation insisted.
The group warned that failure by INEC to remove Ukeagu within seven days would trigger a coordinated mobilisation of young people across the South-East.
”Should INEC fail to remove Mr. Ukeagu within the seven-day ultimatum, the Pan-Igbo Youth Assembly will mobilise young people across the South-East for demonstrations and the occupation of INEC offices in the five South-Eastern states until he is removed,” it declared.
The organisation also threatened to expand the protests beyond the South-East by mobilising Igbo communities and organisations across Nigeria and in the diaspora for a demonstration at INEC’s national headquarters in Abuja.
”Our mobilisation will be lawful, disciplined and directed exclusively at demanding institutional accountability. We will not allow this matter to disappear through bureaucratic delay or political intimidation,” the group stated.
The Assembly called on the Presidency, the National Assembly, the Council of State, civil society organisations, traditional institutions, religious leaders and other stakeholders to prevail on INEC to address the allegations in the overriding interest of electoral credibility.
It also urged the National Assembly to exercise its oversight responsibilities and ensure that allegations concerning the integrity of electoral administration receive the attention they deserve.
”The South-East must not be made to bear the consequences of a crisis of confidence that INEC has the institutional capacity to prevent,” the organisation added.
Emphasising its position, the Assembly said its demand was not intended to promote the interests of any political party, candidate or administration but to ensure that INEC remains neutral, transparent and accountable.
”Finally, let it be clearly understood that the Pan-Igbo Youth Assembly is not asking INEC to favour any political party, candidate or administration. We are demanding an electoral umpire that is manifestly neutral, transparent and accountable.
”No individual is bigger than the institution he serves, and no National Commissioner should be allowed to become a source of political controversy in an election-sensitive region,” the group declared.
