9 May 2009

Abuja — More revelations emerged yesterday on the N250 million bribe rocking the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the Ekiti State governorship rerun.

The 31 workers of the commission engaged as collation and presiding officers for the rerun made statements to the police yesterday.

Nigerian newspaper revealed last night that the police had written INEC, seeking to interrogate the officers over the bribe.

It was learnt that some of the electoral officers were engaged for Ido-Osi poll which result was highly contentious.

The rerun in 63 wards across 10 local governments was contested by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Mr. Segun Oni, and his Action Congress (AC) challenger, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

Oni was declared winner of the election and had been sworn in. Fayemi has rejected the results.

But bribes were said to have been offered presiding and polling officers in respect of the controversial Government poll during the rerun.

Oni got the massive votes in Ido-Osi with which he wiped out Fayemi's initial lead.

The bribe allegedly became a subject of police investigation when one of the presiding officers asked for his share of the money and in the process, a quarrel ensued following which the police stepped in.

The presiding officer who served in Idi-Osi had allegedly said a PDP chieftain addressed the collation and presiding officers informing them that the party would take care of them and that the money would be handed over to a top INEC official.

One of the confessional statements by one of the suspects alleged that a top INEC official collected money on behalf of the electoral officers deployed in Ido-Osi but refused to share the bribe.

But following a letter by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in charge of INEC, J.B. Awelewa, dated May 4, 2009 with reference no CR.3000/B Dept/ INEC/Vol 1/25 and entitled "Investigation Activities," the police asked the commission to release 31 members of its staff engaged as collation and presiding officers in Ido-Osi for interrogation.

The letter was addressed to INEC Secretary Abdullahi Kugama.

It read in parts, "I refer to my letter CB: 3000/B Dept/INEC/ Vol 1/43 dated April 30, 2009 and hereby request for the release of the under-mentioned collation and presiding officers who were deployed in Ido-Osi local government for the supplementary election of April 25, 2009."

DCP Awelewa said in the letter that the "request has become necessary in order to complete investigation into an allegation of corrupt practice currently being handled by this unit. The officers are expected to report to the INEC Police Unit on Thursday, May 7th 2009."

In his response, the INEC secretary directed the commission's Director of Human Resources Management to release the affected officers for police interrogation.

Kugama directed the INEC Director of Human Resources Management thus: "Please inform the listed officers above to report as requested."

The officers appeared at the police unit around 10am and made statements to the police.

Fayemi had mounted a spirited challenge against Oni's victory on the basis of the April 14, 2007 poll, alleging that the election was characterised by massive irregularities until the Court of Appeal voided the poll and ordered a rerun in 10 local governments.

Initial results of the rerun last week from five of the 10 local governments had shown Oni and Fayemi running neck and neck until other results came from four more local governments including that of Ido-Osi to which Oni's hometown of Ifaki-Ekiti belongs.

A huge row had broken out at the collation centre after the Ido-Osi result was announced. AC had contested the result in Ido-Osi which gave Oni a large margin of victory and effectively wiped out Fayemi's initial lead.

The result is PDP, 15,939 and AC, 3,793.

As it turned out, the Ido-Osi result gave Oni the final victory.

According to Ekiti State Resident Electoral Commission-er Ayoka Adebayo, Oni polled 44,306 to beat Fayemi who polled 28,238 votes in the rerun in 10 councils.

In the results validated by the Court of Appeal, PDP got 65,743 and AC 78,091.

When added together, Oni polled 110,049 votes as against Fayemi's 107,329 votes.