Former presidential aide, Okoi Obono-Obla has described as misplaced and balderdash the reaction of the opposition PDP to the recent appointment of persons into the Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission, CROSIEC, by Governor Bassey Otu.
In rejecting the appointment yesterday, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said most of the appointees were card-carrying members of the ruling All Progressives Congress party.
Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mike Ojisi in a statement said the appointment was a blatant attempt to compromise the upcoming local government council election.
“The PDP views this development as a deliberate strategy by the ruling APC to manipulate the electoral process and entrench its dominance at the grassroots.
“Another appointment that has drawn our attention is that of Dr Eyo Otu Eyo, a card-carrying APC member from Odukpani LGA. He was a former aspirant for Odukpani state constituency in the state House of Assembly during the last electoral cycle”, PDP said.
Carpeting PDP’s reaction, Obono-Obla listed the qualifications necessary to be appointed a member of the Board of CROSIEC.
“The brouhaha, hullabaloo, and objection, raised by the PDP in Cross River State, concerning the ineligibility of two purported APC members appointed as commissioners in CROSEIC, is misplaced and balderdash.
“There is no provision under CROSIEC Law, prohibiting the appointment of a member of a Political Party as a member of the Board of CROSIEC.
“Part 11 B, section 3(a) of the Second Schedule to 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria only provides the appointment of members of CROSIEC thus:
“State Independent Electoral Commission shall comprise the following members – (a) a Chairman; and (b) not less than five but not more than seven other persons.”
Therefore, it spells out the criteria or qualifications for such appointments.
The only qualification (s) is the one that any such person appointed must be qualified to be a member of the State House of Assembly spelled out in sections 106 and 107 of the Constitution: (a) membership of a Political party; (b)attainment of the age of 30 year; (c) reading up to school certificate; Non-conviction for an offence involving fraud or dishonesty; (d) a citizenship of Nigeria etc
If the framers of the 1999 Constitution wished that a member of a Political Party be ineligible to be appointed to the Board of CROSIEC, they would have inserted such a bar in Part 11B, section 3 (a) of the Second Schedule to 1999 Constitution of the FRN.”
Obono-Obla insisted that the PDP cannot import what the framers of Part 11 B, section 3 (a) of the Second Schedule, to the 1999 Constitution of the FRN did not contemplate or envisage.
