Members of staff of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have been urged to imbibe good value system to enhance the conduct of transparent and credible general elections in 2023.
A former INEC National Commissioner, Chief Bayo Oyero, stated this in Ibadan on Wednesday at the inauguration of Collation Centre Building, named after the outgoing Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Oyo State, Dr Mutiu Agboke.
According to Oyero, a value system is a way of life, which is the guiding principle of any individual.
“As public servants, once you have good value system and you stick to your own definition of life, it will be a good guide throughout your public career,” he said.
The former INEC commissioner observed that most politicians were too desperate to win election and were always ready to do anything to achieve it.
“They know that those of you who are electoral officers are the ‘operators-general’ at local government level, but relate with them (politicians) in such a way that they don’t implicate you.
“Always ensure that you do the right thing before, during and after election processes,” Oyero said.
He further called on the commission’s staff members to be contented with their respective sensitive positions so that they could end well in their public service career.
In his remarks, the outgoing REC attributed the successes he had recorded in the last four-and-a-half years to the support received from all the commission’s staffers.
“We were able to achieve success due to my resolve to allow people’s votes to count in the 2019 elections.
“We allowed transparency and accessibility, and we didn’t hoard any information from members of the public.
“More importantly is our public advocacy and engagements which made electorate to be prepared, and by the time elections came, people didn’t doubt any of our positions,” he said.
Agboke expressed appreciation to the commission’s staffers for the honour, even as he commended them for their support and cooperation throughout his stay in the state, noting that he couldn’t have achieved anything without their inputs.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Agboke will bow out of the commission on July 6. (NAN)
