Wike writes lawmakers, requests sack of electoral commission officials ahead of local government poll

macfranc007 January 31, 2018 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 Tunde Ososanya

- The governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike has asked the Rivers state House of Assembly to sack and replace some key officials of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission

- The governor, in the letter he wrote the legislature, said the request was informed by the partisan attitude of the officials

- The speaker of the House, Ikuinyi Ibani, said there is need to inject new blood into the commission

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state has requested the immediate sack and replacement of some key officials of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RISIEC) to prepare the body for a smooth local government elections.

Wike made the request on Tuesday, January 30, in Port Harcourt in a letter to the Rivers House of Assembly, NAN reports.

NAIJ.com gathered that the letter, read by the speaker, Ikuinyi Ibani, asking for the sack and outright replacement of the affected officials, was informed by the partisan attitude observed in them.

The letter said that security reports had shown high level of distrust among the affected officials, hence the need to inject new brains that would uphold neutrality which the commission represented.

The letter read in part: “I hereby request the removal of the following members by the House, this move is in the public interest and in accordance to section 201, subsection 1 of the 1999 constitution as amended.

“They are Dr Chimaroke Ngba, Engr Kombo Johnson, Ugbana Martins, Dr Robinson Olulu, Chief Kingsley Ogbudibo and Dr Mrs Juliet Berewari."

On his part, the speaker said that during an oversight function carried out by the House committee on local government in 2017, the commission was found to have performed below its constitutional capacity.

Ibani said: “When report shows that some high profile members of such a sensitive commission were found wanting, there is need for urgent action such as this.

“There is, therefore, the need to inject new blood into the system in the interest of democracy and to further protect the third tier of government."

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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state suspended state's commissioner for works, Kelvin Wachukwu.

This was made known in a statement issued by the governor's special assistant on electronic media, Simeon Nwakaudu.

The statement did not give any reason for the governor's decision. However, it was believed that the works commissioner's suspension might be connected with the recent inspection the governor embarked on to ascertain the progress of ongoing projects in the state.

INEC official at Abuja court - on NAIJ.com TV