Adeleke's Campaign Group Wants INEC to Remove Ebonyi REC from Osun

The Imole Campaign Council, which supports Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to send away the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Ebonyi State, Pauline Ugoyenka. They want her removed from Osun ahead of Saturday's governorship election.

The council claims that Ms Ugoyenka is in Osun even though she is not listed among the RECs sent to oversee the election. They are demanding that INEC explain why she is in the state and what she is doing there.

This call was made in a statement released on Thursday by Bamidele Salam, who is the Chairman of the council's Media and Publicity Committee. The council also expressed worry about plans to use ballot papers and result sheets that are not specifically made for the Osun governorship election.

Mr Salam said they received reports that Ms Ugoyenka was staying at Tees Continental Hotel on Laro Timileyin Street, Ayekale, Osogbo, Osun State. He added that the Ebonyi REC, who is an expert in information and communication technology, had previously stayed at Aenon Suites. He claimed that some individuals linked to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Lagos and Abuja were also staying there.

The campaign council did not provide any proof to back their claims about alleged hackers or their activities. Still, they questioned the authority under which Ms Ugoyenka is operating in Osun.

The council noted that an INEC letter dated 3 August mentioned which states were providing personnel for the Osun election, and Ebonyi was not included. "So, who authorised Mrs Pauline Ugoyenka's presence in Osun, and what exactly is she doing here?" they asked.

The council emphasized that this is an election, not a secret mission. They want INEC to clarify her role, authority, and activities in Osun and to publish a full list of all officials assigned to the election.

They appealed to INEC's national leadership to look into what they called the "unofficial" presence of the Ebonyi REC and insisted she should leave Osun if she has no official duties there. "We demand immediate exit of the Ebonyi REC as she was not posted here for any official duties and her presence constitutes grave danger to the electoral health of Osun people," the statement said.

At the time of this report, Mrs Ugoyenka could not be reached for her side of the story. Besides the issue with the REC, Adeleke's campaign group also wants clarification from INEC regarding the customisation of ballot papers and result sheets for Saturday's election.

The council stated that all electoral materials meant for the Osun governorship election must be clearly customised, produced, and verified for the vote. "We also seek immediate clarification from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on why electoral materials meant specifically for the Osun governorship election would not be duly customised," they said.

They warned that the campaign would resist any process they believe could harm the credibility of the election. "Accord will not accept any arrangement capable of compromising the integrity, transparency or credibility of the August 15 election," the council declared.

The council urged INEC to ensure that only properly customised ballot papers and result sheets made for the Osun governorship election are used. "Anything short of this raises serious questions about the credibility of the process and will be firmly resisted," they warned.

The Osun governorship election is set for Saturday, 15 August, with Governor Adeleke aiming for another term against other candidates, including APC's Bola Oyebamiji and the African Democratic Congress's Najeem Salam.