By Daniel Kanu
A former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Maurice Iwu, on Monday disclaimed a story which quoted him as rebuking INEC for declaring the Osun governorship election which held on Saturday, September 22 “inconclusive.”
Professor Iwu, who purportedly made the statement on Sunday, denied ever speaking on the Osun election to any reporter.
Speaking with TheNiche on Monday night, an obviously infuriated Iwu dismissed the report as fake news.
“I have never issued any statement on electoral process since 2010. In fact, the only interview I have granted since I left office was to your newspaper, TheNiche, in 2014.
“This is reckless journalism. I have never met that journalist before.”
Read Prof Iwu’s only interview since leaving office as INEC chairman in 2010: https://www.thenicheng.com/2007-polls-my-story-by-iwu/
Meanwhile, the statement attributed to the former INEC boss which was signed off by one Frank Ozoh read:
“Actually, in 2010 during the review of INEC’s Elections’ Manual, my committee and I as the chair, invented the inconclusive elections outcomes, particularly where elections did not hold for one reason or the other.
“However, we the initiators of the inconclusive elections realised that our proposal was against the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as Amended), particularly the presidential and the governorship elections and returns.
“Our proposals could be applied only in senatorial, House of Representatives, and state assembly elections and returns, for which the Constitution did not specify how these returns should be made.
‘In this, what is required by the Constitution is that the ‘first past the post’ and/or that the candidate must have the polled majority of the votes cast.
“Secondly, that the candidate in addition to it, must obtain 25 per cent of the total votes cast in two-third of the LGAs of the state in question or of the states in case of presidential election. The electoral act or INEC guidelines cannot supersede the constitutional provisions for that purpose.
“As the constitution has clearly spelt out the manner and how a return should be made in the cases of governorship or presidential election returns.
“Now that the abuse of this tool is becoming obvious, the beneficiaries of this anomaly have refused to listen or adjust accordingly.
“God will surely help us.” Frank Ozoh 23/9/18
Prof Iwu, however, denied the statement, urging journalists and media organisations to be more accountable and to always fact-check reports before publishing them.
Asked how such a lengthy quote could be attributed to him, he said, “This is the height of mischief. An online portal simply copied a statement by one Frank Ozoh and pasted my name on it. They simply took Ozoh’s statement and put my name . I was told that the story was in some newspapers too. This is shameful. Some people have no sense of fairness at all.”
