The Oyo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Dr Mutiu Agboke has decried calls for the formation of interim government in place of 2023 election.
Agboke who made the condemnation Wednesday while speaking at a welcome programme held in honour of Alhaji Tajudeen Amosun, the new Administrative Secretary of the State’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He maintained that election remains the only legitimate way to change government in Nigeria.
The REC urged Nigerians to be optimistic about the nation’s electoral processes, saying that anything less than the process would be illegitimate.
He called on all eligible Nigerians, who have yet to register for the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), to take advantage of the ongoing Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) to register.
Agboke also implored those who have registered, but yet to collect their PVCs to ensure that they collect them in preparation for the forthcoming general elections.
He urged the new Administrative Secretary to show professionalism in discharging his duties.
According to him, Amosun is an experienced officer who has been in the job for long.
“So, it is just for him to step up all that he knows, stepping it up to be in tandem with the current reality of election management.
“Election management of today is a thing of transparency and public advocacy,” he said.
REC advised Amosun to know how to manage election stakeholders, especially the political parties and should not allow his name to be dragged in the mud.
“Be controller of your office and do not allow familiarity to diminish the office of the Administrative Secretary,” he said.
Agboke reiterated the commitment of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the Commission’s Chairman, towards the conduct of credible and transparent general elections in 2023.
He warned the commission’s staff members not to compromise the electoral processes, saying that erring staff would face the consequences.
Amosun had hitherto been the Head of Operations in the commission’s state headquarters in Ibadan, before he became a director and eventually an Administrative Secretary.
