By Francesca Hangeior

Scores of demonstrators from Ondo stormed the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Abuja on Tuesday, demanding the immediate redeployment of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, from the state.

Waving banners and placards with messages such as “Mahmood: Redeploy Babalola Now” and “We Don’t Want a Repeat of Edo Fiasco,” the demonstrators blocked the entrance to the national secretariat, demanding a meeting with INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, to voice their concerns.

The protest comes a week after the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, made a similar request, citing concerns over Babalola’s alleged links to the ruling All Progressives Congress. Speaking at a Peoples Democratic Party campaign rally in Akure, Makinde argued that Babalola’s background in Ondo may compromise the neutrality of the electoral process.

Supporting the governor’s stance, Ayo Adeyemi, Leader of the demonstrators and Convener of the Ondo Youth League, told journalists that while they had no personal issues with the REC, they could not risk any potential bias in the upcoming election.

Adeyemi stated, “Redeploying Babalola is in the best interest of our people and INEC to ensure a free and credible election.”

He added, “We urgently demand that INEC redeploy Ondo Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, from the state. We respect her accomplishments, especially as a woman who has risen to such a prominent position. But for a free and fair election in Ondo, we can’t have Babalola overseeing the process. She grew up here, knows nearly everyone in the public sector, and is highly familiar with the state.
Babalola hasn’t done anything wrong; we simply want her reassigned to another state to avoid any possible conflict of interest.”

“We’re not here to criticise INEC’s operations; we just want an unbiased REC to oversee the upcoming governorship election.”

Responding to the protesters, INEC National Commissioner, Major General Modibbo Alkali (retd), commended them for their orderly conduct.

Alkali assured them that the commission would consider their concerns regarding Babalola’s position.

“We appreciate seeing you come here well-organised. INEC operates impartially, without alignment to any political party or candidate. We function under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he

said. “We’ve received your letter, and INEC will consider it thoroughly. Rest assured, your concerns will be analysed and addressed by the commission chairman.”

The Special Assistant to former Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar on Digital Media Strategy, Demola Olarewaju, has criticized President Bola Tinubu for appointing Bianca Ojukwu as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in his midterm cabinet reshuffle.

Olarenwaju stated that Bianca won’t help Tinubu get votes from the Southeast in 2027 because she has zero electoral value.

He described Bianca’s ministerial appointment as a political gambit to soften the ground amidst other moves to be made by Tinubu ahead of elections.

In a statement in his X page, Olarenwaju said: “Bianca Ojukwu has zero electoral value and not one sane Obidient voter in the SE will switch to BAT for her sake – not one.

The statement reads partly: “Understand first of all that Tinubu is nothing, if not political. Everything he does is about power. If he opposes subsidy in 2012 – it is power. If he upholds it in 2024, it is for power.

“He can say “Yoruba Ronu” to woo Yoruba ethnocentrists, but can also say “One Nigeria” when necessary. I’m not sure that man has had even one genuine friendship in the past three decades, unless there is some political leverage or advantage to be gained.

“Bianca is a ‘nobody’ in the political configuration of the SE. But remember, APC currently has governors in two states of the SE all three senators from Ebonyi, two from Imo and one from Abia, where Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu is from and where a Bola Tinubu University of Nigerian Languages may soon be sited.

“Recall also that Bola Tinubu/APC scored more votes in the SE than Atiku Abubakar/PDP – based on “it is the turn of the South/let Tinubu have it if not Obi, but not a Fulani.

“So Bianca is not at all likely to move any voter but she won’t need to – she is only one piece of a larger plan to provide an excuse for APCNEC (APC/INEC) rigging.”

The chairman of the Kano chapter of the APC, Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas, gave the words of caution in a statement issued on Friday.

On Tuesday, a Federal High Court in Kano presided over by Justice Simon Amobeda while ruling in a matter filed by Aminu Aliyu Tiga, and the APC disqualified Prof. Sani Malumfashi as the chairman of the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission.

The Court held that the chairman was a political party card-carrying member. It equally sacked five members of the commission for their ties with the New Nigerian People’s Party.

A Kano State High Court on Friday, however, granted the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) the authority to proceed with the local government elections scheduled for Saturday, nullifying all attempts by political parties to stop the exercise.

The presiding judge, Justice Sanusi Ma’aji, ruled that KANSIEC is empowered by the Constitution to conduct, supervise, and oversee local government elections across the 44 local government areas (LGAs) in Kano State.

In the fresh case brought by KANSIEC against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and 13 other political parties, Justice Ma’aji maintained that any effort to obstruct the process would be deemed null and void.

The APC Chairman, Kano State Chapter, in his statement, however, called on the state government to adhere to the directive of the Federal High Court in Kano, which had earlier on Tuesday restrained KANSIEC from holding the council poll after sacking the chairman, secretary, and commissioners of the agency.

The party noted that the call by the governor on NNPP supporters to ignore the court directive was a clear case of an invitation to anarchy and lawlessness.

“The governor should simply respect the laws. As law-abiding citizens interested in the growth of our dear state of Kano, the governor should desist from any act that could throw the state into chaos.

“Inciting people to take the laws into their own hands is not the hallmark of good leadership,” the party noted.

The APC further expressed concern over remarks attributed to Governor Yusuf at a rally in Kano City where he openly declared that he would proceed with the LG election.

The APC claimed that the remarks were inciting and unbecoming of someone who is supposed to be the chief security officer of the state.