Protests mar INEC, Political parties parley in Osun

By Afe-Williams Zeal
The one day stakeholders meeting organized in Oshogbo by the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega with registered political parties in Osun State was disrupted by two opposing protesters calling for the removal of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Rufus Akeju.
Four of the registered political parties also walked out of the meeting accusing Jega of taking sides with Dr Akeju.
Leading the anti-Akeju protest are Osun Liberated Movement, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), and All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).
They demanded for the immediate removal from the state the REC, saying that his continued stay in office was bringing disrepute to INEC.
They alleged that Akeju was a card carrying member of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, in the state, claiming that he was also an ally of the APC national leader, Senator Bola Tinubu.
While the anti-Akeju protest was going on, another group of people mobilized themselves and stormed the venue of the meeting calling for the retention of Akeju in office.
Jega in his address at the meeting assured the parties that INEC will conduct a free, fair and credible election in the state.
He absolved INEC of blames arising from Anambra elections, insisting that so many factors responsible for it have been adequately dealt with.
The political parties except the APC in their presentations called for the removal of Dr Akeju as state REC to ensure a credible election.
But when Jega said that all the allegations against Akeju were not enough to warrant his removal from the state, they stormed out of the meeting en-masse.